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GAMES 

PASTIMES^AMUSEMENTS 






For Boys and Girls 

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SPORTS AND 
PLAYS FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES 
..AT ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR.. 



A Vast Collection of Games for Children, including the Old as well as the 

New Ones. Together with instructions for making all sorts of things, 

such as Attic Gymnasiums, Rag Dolls, Toys, etc. Containing 

also Programs for Children's Parties, 

Holidays and Festivals. 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 



Arranged and Illustrated 

By RAYMOND H. GARMAN 

Author of "Peter Teeter," "Visitors' Sketch Book," Etc. 




[UBBARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MA* 8 190/ 

Copyright Entry 

CLASS XXc„ NO. 

COPY B. 


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Received from 
Copyright Office. 

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PREFACE. 

All young people are fond of games, and children's 
parties would not be half so enjoyable were it not for the 
fun and laughter which are caused both by the games and 
the forfeits which so many of them demand. 

A good old-fashioned children's party, where Blind- 
man's Buff and such games are played, is always interest- 
ing. 

Who does not enjoy a game of Oranges and Lemons, 
and feel a delightful shiver of terror as the chopper de- 
scends upon someone's head? Then the Tug-of-war after- 
wards. Here the boys are well at home, neither side will 
give way, and at length totter, totter, totter, and a laugh- 
ing, screaming mass of children lose their balance and go 
toppling over. 

All of the good old games will be found here with 
many a first-rate new one added to them, so that there 
will be little chance of you ever spending a dull day or 
evening again, — at least if only you carry out the instruc- 
tions given you. 

The games include fun for the tiniest among you, as 
well as for the older ones, and you must try to include all 
who wish to" play in them. 

If any games are described as being for two or four 
only, it is generally easy to alter the rules slightly, so 
that a greater number can take part in them, and so, by a 
little care, enable others to have a good time, and be all 
the happier yourself for so doing. 



CONTENTS. 



Games for Tiny Tots. 

As We Go Round the Mulberry Bush II 

Ball 14 

Bouncing Ball 14 

School Ball 14 

Bean Bag 14 

Blindman's Buff 14 

Drop the Handkerchief 14 

Flying Feather 16 

Frog Pond 16 

Going to Peanut Town 17 

Green Gravel 18 

Heart Hunt 20 

Holly Wreath 20 

Hunt the Whistle 20 

Little Washer Woman 20 

London Bridge : . . . 22 

Magic Music 25 

Miss Jennia Jones 25 

Oranges and Lemons .• 29 

Peanut Tournament 30 

Puss in the Corner 31 

Ring Around the Rosie 31 

Rolling Hoops 33 

Turnpikes 33 

Posting 35 

Weaving Garlands 35 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Games for Children. 

8 to 12 Years. 

Animal Clippers 37 

Bachelor's Kitchen 37 

Ball 38 

Haley Over . . . : 38 

Call Ball 38 

Hat-Ball 40 

Corner Ball 40 

Arch Ball 40 

Beast, Bird or Fish 40 

Blind Man's Buff, Seated 41 

Blindman's Buff, French 41 

Blindman's Wand 41 

Book Binder 42 

Broken Hearts 42 

Buttons 43 

Cat and Mouse 43 

Christmas Candles 44 

Chickens, Fox and Hounds 44 

Den 45 

Fire ! Fire ! 45 

Fox and Geese 46 

Fox, Goose and Geese 46 

Fox and Hen 48 

Going to Jerusalem 48 

Guarding the Treasure 49 

Here I Bake, Here I Brew 49 

Hold Fast My Gold Ring 50 

Hop Scotch 51 

Hul Gul 52 

It 52 

Jack Stones 54 

Knock at Door 55 

Around the World 55 

King's Armory 55 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

King of the Castle 55 

Lawn Hab-Enihan 56 

Leap Frog 57 

Marbles 57 

Round-Ring 57 

Pug 57 

One Hole 59 

Spanners 59 

Picking the Plums 59 

Long Ring 59 

May Pole Dance 60 

Minister's Cat 63 

My Lady's Toilette 63 

Naughty Straw Man 63 

Odd or Even 64 

Oracles 64 

Counting Apple Seeds 65 

Passing the Ring 65 

Post Crown 65 

Potato Race 67 

Prisoner's Base 67 

Rooster & Hen , 68 

Rope Skipping 69 

Spider Webb 71 

Stage Coach 71 

Tag 71 

Cross Tag 71 

Japanese Tag 71 

Iron Tag 71 

Blind Tag 72 

Stag Tag 72 

Flag Tag J2 

Medicine Ball Tag J2 

Three Legged Race 73 

Tops 74 

Peg in the Ring 74 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

How to Make Them 74 

Magic Top 76 

A Humming Top 76 

Trussed Fowls ' 76 

Tug of War 77 

Wagging Mandarin . . 77 

Warning 79 

Wink 79 

Games for Children. 

12 to 16 Years. 

Alliteration 81 

Alphabets 81 

April Fool Game 83 

Hand Ball 84 

One-o-cat 86 

Water Baseball 87 

Circle Ball 89 

Battledore & Shuttlecock 89 

Buz . 89 

Capping Verses 90 

Christmas Stockings 91 

Cheat 91 

Clap In, Clap Out 92 

Commercial Travelers 92 

Contradictory Proverbs 93 

Cupid's Target 94 

Duck on a Rock 94 

Dumb Crambo 95 

Egg Race 96 

Electrical Fishing 96 

Flower Spider Web 97 

Fortune Hunting 97 

Games of Mesmerism 98 

Good Resolutions 100 

Hare and Hounds 100 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Hot Cockles 103 

Human Burden Race 104 

Japanese Fan Game 104 

Jump the Rope 105 

Keeping the Thread of a Story 105 

Kites 107 

How to Make a Kite 107 

Flying the Kite 1 1 1 

Knights 112 

Matching Eggs 112 

Mumblety-Peg 112 

Names of Cities 113 

Numbers 113 

Our Flag 115 

Parcel's Post 115 

Penny Puzzle 115 

Pillow Climbing 117 

Relay Race 117 

Sack Race 118 

Sentence Forming Fun 118 

Shadow Circus 118 

Shadows on the Wall 121 

A Rabbit 122 

A Laborer's Head 122 

U. S. Soldier 122 

A Turtle 122 

Geronimo 122 

Continental Soldier 122 

An Old Man 123 

Barking Dog 123 

Shouting Proverbs \ T23 

Snatch the Handkerchief „ . 123 

Snap Dragon 125 

Stool Dance 125 

St. Valentine's Post 125 

Straddle Club 126 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Swapping Party 126 

Telegrams 128 

Testing Fates 128 

Thanksgiving Feast 129 

Tom Tiddler's Land 129 

Torpedo Hunt 130 

Tossing Chestnuts 130 

The Dancing Egg 130 

The Swimming Needles 132 

A Simple and Puzzling Board Illusion 132 

Some Tricks With a Hat, Eggs and a Handkerchief. . 133 

How to Drive a Needle Through a Copper Coin 134 

The Height of a Hat 136 

Paper Tricks 136 

The Magic Thread 136 

How to Light a Candle Without Touching It 136 

Removing a Coin From a Glass Without Touching 

Either 137 

The Feat of Blowing a Cork Into a Bottle 137 

The Mystery of the Obedient Parlor Table 138 

Turning a Glass of Water Upside Down Without 

Spilling 138 

Putting a Bird in An Empty Cage 139 

Mesmeric Trick 139 

To Light a Snow Ball With a Match. 140 

Walking Matches 140 

Filling a Glass of Water With Smoke 140 

Some Simple, Interesting and Mystifying Feats. ..... 141 

Twisted Animals 142 

Up Jenkins 143 

Water Sprite 144 

Waxworks 145 

Wheel of Fortune 145 

Witch in the Jar 146 

Wriggles 146 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Amusements and Pastimes for Girls. 

1. Fun With Apples and Gourds 148 

2. Fun With Egg Shells 151 

3. Rag Dolls and Homemade Toys and Doll Furniture 155 

4. Fun With Smoke Pictures 162 

5. How to Make Pincushions 164 

6. How to Make Housewives 165 

7. How to Make Spectacle Wipers 166 

8. How to Make Jacob's Ladder 167 

9. A Good Sewing Apron 167 

10. A Soap Bubble Party 168 

11. Window Gardens 172 

12. Sea Side Toys 173 

13. Making Scrap Books 177 

Pastimes and Amusements for Boys. 

An Attic Gymnasium 178 

A Back Yard Fish Pond 181 

A Boys' Club House on the Water 185 

How to Make Bird Houses 188 

An Ice Sled 196 

A Push Wagon 197 

A Paddle Wheel Boat 198 

Snow Houses 201 

A Home Made Hammock 203 

How to Make a Telephone 204 

How to Make a Spring Raft 204 

A Home Aquarium 207 

Pleasant Places for Summer Days 212 

Tree Top Club Houses 215 

A Magic Lantern 219 

Fishing Tackle 220 

Make a Boomerang 221 

An Elastic Crossbow 222 

Blow Gun 22^ 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Programs Arranged for Children's Parties. 

New Year's Day Party 225 

St. Valentine's Party 226 

April-Fools' Day Party 226 

Easter Party 228 

May-Day Party 228 

Fourth of July Frolic 229 

Hallowe'en 229 

Thanksgiving 238 

Christmas 239 

Hard Times Party 239 



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GAMES for TINY TOTS 




As Wc Go Round the Mulberry Bush. 



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AS WE GO 'ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH, 

As we go 'round the mulberry bush, 
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush; 
As we go 'round the mulberry bush, 
So early in the morning. 

This is the way we wash our clothes, 
All of a Monday morning. 



This is the way we iron our clothes, 
All of a Tuesday morning. 



12 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

This is the way we scrub our floor, 
All of a Wednesday morning. 

This is the way we mend our clothes, 
All of a Thursday morning. 

This is the way we sweep the house, 
All of a Friday morning. 

This is the way we bake our bread, 
All of a Saturday morning. 

This is the way we go to church, 
All of a Sunday morning. 





As We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. 



14 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

BALL. 

Bouncing Ball. — Girls strike balls with the palm of the 
hand to keep up their bouncing or fling them against the 
wall to drive them back on the return, or pass the ball from 
hand to hand in a ring or row. 

School Ball. — The children stand in a line. The ball 
is tossed by the "thrower" (who stands in front of the line) 
to the first one in the line and after being returned by the 
latter is sent to the next, and so on. If any child misses 
she must go to the foot, and if the "thrower" misses she 
must go to the foot and the first child in the line takes her 
place. 

BEAN BAG. 

All stand in a line and one who is the leader throws the 
bean bag to the child at the head of the line, who throws 
it back. Should the player at the head fail to catch it, he 
must go to the foot of the line, and if the leader misses, he 
goes to the foot, and the player at the head takes his place. 

BLINDMAN'S BUFF. 

A blind folded player is led into the centre of the room, 
taken by the shoulders and turned about three times, after 
which he must catch and name some child to take his place. 
For this initiation there is a rhyme : 
"How many horses have you in your father's stable?" 
"Three; black, white and gray." 
"Turn about, and turn about, and catch whom you may." 

DROP THE HANDKERCHIEF. 

The whole party, except one, form a ring. The one 
who is left out runs two or three times around the ring, and 
then drops the handkerchief at the feet of a playmate, who 
picks the handkerchief up and tries to catch him before he 
can run around the ring and jump into the vacant space. If 




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Blindman's Buff. 



16 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



she does not catch him she runs around singing, "A tisket, 
a tasket, a green and yellow basket. I sent a letter to my 
love and on the way I dropped it, I dropped it, I dropped it." 
If she catches him he is made to sit in the middle of the ring 
until he can get the handkerchief from under some one's 
feet or until some one else is caught. Continuing in this 
way as long as they choose. 

FLYING FEATHER. 

In this game the little girls join hands, and dance 
around in a ring on the turf, trying, meanwhile, by blowing 
a bit of down, to keep it in the air. When players are skill- 
ful, they can often dance for fifteen minutes without let- 
ting the feather come to the ground. 

FROG POND. 

A party of children, who represent frogs by a hopping 
motion. At the word "cro-x-x-x" they imitate the croak- 
ing of a frog. 

The Frog Pond. 



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Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



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Come, neighbors, the moon is up, 
It's pleasant out here on the bank, 
Come, stick your heads out of the tank, 
And let us, before we sup, 

Go cro — x — x 
And let us, before we sup, 
Go cro- 



-x — x. 



[Enter child in character of duck.] 

Hush, yonder is a waddling duck, 
He's coming, I don't mean to stay. 

We'd better by half hop our way, 
If we don't he will gobble us up. 

With a kough, kough, kough, 
If we don't he will gobble us up, 

With a kough, kough, kough. 

Every frog hops to his separate den, while pursued by 
the duck. The game after the duck's advent being ex- 
tremely animated. , 

GOING TO PEANUT TOWN. 

Place on the dining room table a large bowl of pea- 
nuts; some six or eight feet away an empty bowl on another 
table. 

The children must "count out" and the child who is 
"it" calls the name of the one he selects to go to "Peanut 
Town." To this child he now gives a knife, dinner size is 
best, and commands him," 



1* Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

"Go at once to Peanut Town, 

Peanut Town, Peanut Town, 
Go at once to Peanut Town, 

And haul its peanuts down." 

The child takes the knife to the bowl of peanuts, lifts 
as many as possible on the blade of the knife, and starts with 
them to the empty bowl. The child who brings the largest 
number in three trials is the winner of the game. One child 
is appointed to pick up the nuts as they drop from the knife 
blade, these are returned to the bowl at "Peanut Town," 
and the number that drop cause a deal of laughter and mer- 
riment. 

GREEN GRAVEL. 

Girls form a circle and dance around one of their num- 
ber. The girl in the ring turns her head gravely as a mes- 
senger advances, while the rest sing to a pleasing air — 

Green gravel, green gravel, 

The grass grows so green, 
The fairest of ladies, 

Is fit to be seen. 
Dear , Dear 

Your true love is dead ; 
The king sends you a letter 

To turn back your head. 

The process is repeated calling each child by name until 
all of the children have so turned. Turning the head is the 
sign of sorrow. The game is continued by the following 
verse in which the lost lovers appear: 

Dear , Dear , 

Your true love's not slain, 
The king sends you a letter 

To turn around again. 

And the dancers who have all turned about, are one by 
one made to face the ring. 



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20 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

HEART HUNT. 

Sugar hearts with mottos printed in red upon them are 
hidden in nooks and crannies, behind pictures, and in orna- 
ments about the room. Each child is given a small heart- 
shaped paper basket to put the hearts in. The child who 
finds the greatest number of hearts may be rewarded by a 
box of bon-bons in heart shape. 

HOLLY WREATH. 

A huge holly wreath is hung in a doorway, and stand- 
ing eight or ten feet from the wreath, each child tries in turn 
to throw his snowball (made of white crepe paper) through 
it. Should there be more than one successful player each 
with three balls contests for the prize. 

HUNT THE WHISTLE. 

The children form a circle around some child whose 
eyes are blindfolded. The whistle having been previously 
shown him, is supposed to be hidden where he is to find 
it, and while his eyes are being bandaged the whistle is 
strung on a ribbon. and attached to the back of his coat. 
The bandage is then removed, and he must seek for the 
whistle. When his back is turned one of the players steals 
up and blows the whistle; as opportunity offers, others blow 
the whistle, but he is encouraged to continue his search un- 
til he discovers the trick. 

LITTLE WASHER WOMAN. 

This game somewhat resembles weaving garlands. 
The players stand opposite to one another in couples, each 
girl with her right hand clasping her companion's left. 
Then they swing their arms, slowly and gracefully, first 
three times toward the right and then three times toward 
the left, singing: "This is the way we wash the clothes, 
wash the clothes, wash the clothes." Then they unclasp 




The Swing. 



22 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



their hands and rub them together as washer women do in 
rubbing their clothes, singing: "This is the way we rub 
our clothes, rub our clothes. " The third movement is very 
pretty. The couple clasp hands just as they do at first, then 
raise their arms in an arch on one side and slip through so 
that they stand back to back, then raise their arms in the 
same way on the other side, and again slip through so that 
they stand face to face again. This must be done very 
quickly, thrice in succession, while the players sing: "This 
is the way we wring the clothes, wring the clothes, wring the 
clothes," and then stopping suddenly clap their hands, sing- 
ing: "And hang them on the bushes." When several 
couples have learned the game well, it is a very pretty sight. 

LONDON BRIDGE. 

No game has been more popular with children than 
this, and any summer evening, in the poorer quarters of 

London 



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the cities, it may still be seen how six years instructs three 
years in the proper way of conducting it. Two players, by 
their uplifted hands, form an arch, representing the bridge, 
under which passes the train of children, each clinging to 
the garments of the predecessor and hurrying to get safely 
by. As the last verse is sung the raised arms of the two 
directors of the game descend and encrose the child who 
happens to be passing at the time. The prisoner is then 
led, still confined by the arms of her captors, to the corner 
which represents the prison and asked, "Will you have a 
diamond necklace or a gold pin?" "A rose or a cabbage?" 
or some equivalent question. The keepers have already 
privately agreed which of the two each of these objects 
shall represent, and, according to the prisoner's choice, he 
is placed behind one or the other. When all are caught, the 
game ends with a "Tug of War," the two sides pulling 
against each other; and the child who lets go, and breaks 
the line, is pointed at and derided. The words of the rhyme 



Bridge, 



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down;Lon-don Bridge is falkng down, my fair la-dy. 



24 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



sung while the row passes under the bridge are now re- 
duced to two lines: 




London Bridge. 

London bridge is falling down, 
My fair lady! 



London bridge is falling down, 

Falling down, falling down, 
London bridge is falling down 

My fair lady ! 
You've stole my watch and kept my keys, 

My fair lady! 
Off to prison she must go, 

My fair lady ! 
Take the key and lock her up, 

My fair lady ! 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 25 

MAGIC MUSIC. 

"Magic Music" is proposed by the children. One of 
the players leaves the room and the rest hide some object; 
one of the company seats herself at the piano and plays; 
the absent player is called in and proceeds to hunt the ob- 
ject. If he goes near the hiding-place the music grows 
louder, increasing the nearer he gets to it, and growing 
softer the farther away he goes. This guides him finally 
to the exact spot, after which another player takes his place. 

MISS JENNIA JONES. 

The story of this is originally a love story. The young 
lady dies from a blighted affection and the prohibition of 
cruel parents. 

A mother, seated, Miss Jones stands behind her chair, 
or reclines on her lap as if lying sick. A dancer advances 
from the ring. 

"1 ve come to see Miss Jennia Jones, 

Miss Jennia Jones, Miss Jennia Jones — 
I've come to see Miss Jennia Jones, 
And how is she to-day?" 

"She's up stairs washing, 
Washing, washing — 
She's up stairs washing, 

You cannot see her to-day." 

The questions are repeated to the same air for every 
day of the week and Miss Jones is baking, ironing, or scrub- 
bing. She is then sick or worse and finally is dead. 

"What shall we dress her in, 
Dress her in, dress her in; 
What shall we dress her in — 
Shall it be blue?" 



26 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



Miss Jennia 




We've come to see Miss Jennia Jones., 




Jennia Jones, and how is she to-day? 




hear it, to hear it We're right glad to 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



27 



Jones 




Jennia Jones, Jennia Jones; we've come to see Miss 



(Spoken) 
She's washing 




We're right glad to hear it To 




hear it And how is she to - day? 



28 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

"Blue is for sailors, 

So that will never do." 

"What shall we dress her in, 
Shall it be red ?" 

"Red is for firemen, 

So that will never do." 

"Pink is for babies, 

So that will never do." 

"Green is forsaken, 

So that will never do." 

"Black is for mourners, 
So that will never do." 

"White is for dead people 
So that will just do." 

"Where shall we bury her? 
Under the apple tree." 



After the burial is completed, the ghost suddenly 
arises. 

"I dreamed I saw a ghost last night, 
Ghost last night, ghost last night — 
I dreamed I saw a ghost last night, 
Under the apple tree!" 

The ring breaks up, the children fly with shrieks, and 
the one caught is to take the part of Miss Jennia Jones in 
the next game. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



29 




Oranges and Lemons. 



ORANGES AND LEMONS. 

Two of the players join hands, facing each other, hav- 
ing agreed privately which is to be "oranges" and which 
"lemons." The rest of the party form a long line, standing 
one behind the other, and holding each other's dress or 



30 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

coat. The first two raise their hands so as to form an arch, 
and the rest run through it, singing as they run: 

"Oranges and Lemons, 
Say the bells of St. Clements; 
You owe me five farthings, 
Say the bells of St. Martins; 
When will you pay me ? 
Say the bells of old Bailey, 
I do not know. 
Says the big bell of Bow, 
Here comes a candle to light you to bed 
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head!" 

At the word "head" the hand archway descends and 
clasps the player passing through at that moment; he is then 
asked to whisper "oranges or lemons?" and if he chooses 
"oranges" he is told to go behind the player who has agreed 
to be "oranges" and clasp him around the waist. 

The players must speak in whispers, that the others 
may not know. 

The game then goes on again until all the children have 
been caught, and have chosen which they will be, "oranges 
or lemons." The two sides then prepare for a tug of war. 
Each child clasps the one in front of him tightly and the 
two leaders pull with all their might, until one side has 
drawn the other across a line which has been drawn be- 
tween them. 

PEANUT TOURNAMENT. 

The children take seats around small tables, four at 
each. A large bowl of peanuts is now brought in and a 
cupful is piled in the middle of each table. A small pair of 
bonbon tongs, such as may be bought at a confectioners, is 
provided for every table. The children try in turn to take 
off a peanut at a time without stirring the other nuts. If 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



31 



a player succeeds he may have another chance and another 
until he fails, when the turn passes to the child on the left. 
At the end of twenty minutes a bell is rung, and the player 
at each table having the most peanuts wins. The winners 
at the different tables play another round, and if necessary, 
still another round is played, until there is but one winner. 
The prize is a huge paper-mache peanut filled with bon- 
bons. 

PUSS IN THE CORNER 

Is a game that charms the very wee ones. The four corners 
of the room are occupied by the four pussies ; the other chil- 
dren stand in a group in the middle. The pussies raise their 
fingers, beckon to each other and call "Puss, puss, puss!" 
The object is to change corners so quickly that no one from 
the waiting group can get a chance to slip into the vacant 
corner and so become a pussy. 



Ring Around the Rosie. 



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RING AROUND THE ROSIE. 

little round, universally familiar in America, 
_ccs us again in Germany. After the transit of various 
languages and thousands of miles the song retains the same 
essential characteristics. 



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Ring Around the Rosie. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 33 

Ring, a ring, a rosie, 
A bottle full of posie, 
All the girls in our town, 
Ring for little Josie. 

Another version: 

Round the ring of roses, 
Pots full of posies, — 
The one who stoops last, 
Shall tell whom she loves best. 

New Bedford, Mass. (About 1790). 

A number of children take hands and form a circle and 
skip around the one who is in the centre. At the end of the 
round the children suddenly stoop, and the last to get down 
undergoes some penalty, or has to take the place of the child 
in the centre, who represents the "rosie" (rose tree; French, 
rosier). 

ROLLING HOOPS. 

A great deal may be done with hoops. The mere 
trundling of a hoop is good fun in itself, but a great deal 
more fun and amusement may be had with hoops than that. 
A well contested hoop race is very exciting. The hoops 
when driven at full speed, require a great deal of manage- 
ment, and the race does not always fall to the swiftest run- 
ner. The hoops in a race should be nearly of a size, as a 
large hoop has a great advantage over a smaller one. So 
if there be any material difference the smaller hoops should 
have so many yards start according to their comparative 
size. 

Turnpikes. — This is the best of hoop games. The turn- 
pike gates are two small pegs driven into the ground or 
two bricks placed side by side, about six inches apart. Half 
the players have hoops and half have charge of gates. The 




Rolling Hoops. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 35 

players with hoops start off, trundling the hoop slowly or 
quickly as they please, and they must pass the hoop through 
every gate. If the hoop touches either of the gate posts, or 
goes outside of them, the keeper takes the hoop, while the 
trundler takes his place as gate keeper. 

Posting. — In this game a large circular track should 
be marked out, with stations at equal distances, one for each 
player. The player at the first station trundles his hoop to 
the second station, the player at the second station Jakes 
his on to the third, and so on; the player at the last station 
takes his on to the first again. Anyone steadying the hoop 
with his hand is "out," and his station must be abolished. 
The player keeping in and trundling the hoop around to 
all the stations, wins the game. If the number of children 
is large, two or three hoops may be kept going at one 
time. 

WEAVING GARLANDS. 

This graceful little game is like a dance. The girls 
stand in a row, with joined hands; one remains perfectly 
still while the others dance around until the whole line is 
wound into a knot, singing: "Let us lovely garlands 
wind." Then they dance the other way, singing: "Now the 
wreath we will unbind," until they form a straight line. 




Tobogganing. 





«4 



GAMES for CHUJDRE 
8 to 12 YEARS 




ANIMAL CLIPPERS. 

Provide as many pairs of scissors, sheets of white paper 
and lead pencils as there are to be children at the party. 
When these are distributed the leader must call out the 
name of some animal, dog, for instance. Each child must 
then cut out, as well as he can, a dog, three minutes being 
allowed for the work. Then each must write his or her 
name on the dog and give it to the leader, who collects them 
in a basket or box. The dogs are now spread out on a table 
with the names of those who cut them turned down. The 
children now file by the table and each marks with his pen- 
cil the dog he thinks best. The leader counts the votes and 
announces the name of the child whose dog has received 
the largest number of votes. This performance is repeated 
twice, making three contests; the child who has the largest 
number of votes in all gets the prize. 

BACHELOR'S KITCHEN. 

The children sit in a row, with the exception of one, 
who goes in succession to each child, and asks him what he 
will give to the bachelor's kitchen. Each answers what he 
pleases, as a saucepan, a mousetrap, etc. When all have 
replied, the questioner returns to the first child, and puts 
all sorts of questions, which must be answered by the ar- 
ticle which he before gave to the kitchen, and by no other 
word. For instance, he asks, "What do you wear on your 
head?" "Mousetrap. " The object is to make the answerer 
laugh, and he is asked a number of questions, until he either 
laughs or is given up as a hard subject. The questioner 
then passes to the next child, and so on through the whole 



38 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

row. Those who laugh, or add any other word to their 
answer, must pay forfeit, which is redeemed in the same 
way as in other games. 

BALL. 

Call Ball. — The ball is thrown against a house, at the 
same time a name is called. The lad named must strike 
back the ball on its rebound. If the player, whose name is 
called, drops the ball, he must pick it up as quickly as pos- 
sible, while the rest scatter. He then calls "Stand," upon 
which the players halt, and he flings it at whom he pleases. 
If he misses his aim, he must place himself in a bent posi- 
tion with, his hands against the .wall, until every player has 
taken a shot at him. 

Haley Over. — The players are divided into four equal 
parties, who take positions on different sides of a building, 
out of sight of each other. A lad then throws the ball over 
the roof of the house, to any height or in any direction he 
pleases. It is the object of the opposite side to catch the 
ball on its descent, and if any player succeeds in doing so, 
he immediately darts around the corner and attempts to 
hit with the ball some player of the other side, who scatter 
in all directions. To this end, he may either throw the ball 
from a distance or chase any antagonist till he has come 
up with him, and has an easier mark. If he succeeds in hit- 
ting a boy, the latter must follow the former back to his 
own side, to which he henceforward belongs. The game 
continues until all of the players have been brought over 
to one side. The party from which the ball has been thrown 
have no means of knowing whether it has been caught or 
not, until its return, and must be prepared to see an ad- 
versary suddenly appear, ball in hand, and ready to throw. 
Hence, the excitement of the game. 

Roll Ball. — A row of holes large enough to contain the 
ball is made, one for each boy. The player to whom is al- 
lotted the last hole takes the ball, stands off, and rolls it in 




The latest news from the zoo 

Is: To-day, at half past two, 

The "Monkey Club" gay is going to play 
Baseball with the "Kangaroo. 5 



40 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

such a way as to stop in one of the holes. The boy into 
whose place the ball has rolled seizes it, while the rest scat- 
ter, and throws it at some one of the group; if he succeeds 
in hitting him, a stone is placed in the hole of that boy; if 
not, the thrower must put a stone in his own. The rolling 
of the ball is then repeated. When five stones are lodged 
in any hole, that boy is out of the game. 

Hat-Ball. — This game is the same as Roll Ball, played 
with hats instead of holes. The ball is tossed into the hat of 
the player who is to begin. The first to get five stones in 
his hat loses, and must undergo the punishment of being 
"paddled," passing under the legs of the row of players for 
that purpose 

Corner Ball. — Four players stand on the four angles 
of a square, and the four adversaries in the centre. The 
ball is passed from one to another of the players in the cor- 
ners, and finally thrown at the central players. These last, 
if they can catch the ball, may fling it back. If the player 
in the corner hits a central player, the latter is out, and vice 
versa. 

Arch Ball. — Among numerous good games with ball 
is one called "arch ball." The players stand in two or more 
lines, single file, players about two feet apart. The leader 
throws the ball backward over his head to the player be- 
hind. The second throws it in the same way to the third, 
and so on down the line. The last one runs to the front 
with the ball, takes his place at the head of the line and 
begins over again. If the ball is missed the one who failed 
to catch it must pick it up and return to his place in the 
line before throwing it. The line wins whose leader first 
gets back to the front. 

BEAST, BIRD OR FISH. 

A member of the party throws to another a knotted 
handkerchief, saying one of the above words, and counting 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 41 

up to ten. The catcher must answer in the given time the 
name of some animal of the kind required, not already cited 
by some other player. 

Whoever fails to reply while the counting is going on, 
is out of the game. After the names of commoner animals 
are exhausted, the game becomes a test of quickness and 
memory. 

BLINDMAN'S-BUFF-SEATED. 

The players seat themselves in a circle, and after one 
of their number has been blindfolded, they all noiselessly 
change places. The blindman then seats himself in the lap 
of some one, without groping or touching any one with 
his hands. He must then guess the name of the person in 
whose lap he is sitting. If successful, that person then be- 
comes the blindman. It is sometimes played where a ques- 
tion is asked and then answered in a whisper as a help to 
the solution. 

BLINDMAN'S-BUFF— FRENCH. 

In France, they tie the hands behind the back, instead 
of blindfolding the pursuer, which affords quite as much 
sport — and incurs less risk of accident. 

BLINDMAN'S WAND. 

The players form a circle, holding hands, and one is 
placed in the middle, blindfolded and a cane is given him. 
The rest dance around him singing. Suddenly the piano 
accompaniment stops, and immediately all in the circle 
stand perfectly still, loosing hands. The blindman now 
reaches out his cane and the person to whom it points must 
advance ajid hold the other end. The blindman then imi- 
tates the sound of some animal, which must be echoed by 
the holder of the cane, at the same time disguising the voice 
so that his identity may not be discovered. This test may 



4:2 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

be thrice repeated, changing the cry or roar each time. 
Then the blindman may pass the cane over the person un- 
der consideration, touching him here and there. If the 
blindman guesses correctly, the person detected must then 
change places with him. 

BOOK-BINDER. 

The leader stands in the center of a circle. Each one 
holds out his hands, palms upward, and upon them a book 
is placed. The leader then goes around the circle, catching 
up the books in turn, and trying therewith to strike it upon 
the hands that hold it. Each one tries to withdraw his 
hands before they are struck. The same leader continues 
until he is able to strike some one's hands, whereupon the 
victim must take his place. If one's hands are withdrawn 
and the book falls to the ground, because of a feint on the 
part of the leader, it is as if his hands received the blow. 

BROKEN HEARTS. 

Heart shaped red cards about three by two and a quar- 
ter inches are provided. The children are seated in a line or 
a circle; every fourth child is given a pair of scissors, and 
each one a heart-shaped card on a book or magazine, Each 
child is to cut his heart twice across so as to make four 
pieces. The cuts should be perfectly straight, but should 
intersect each other, but they may go in any direction. 
After the heart is cut once, the pieces should be held to- 
gether till the second cut has been made. Each child then 
mixes his pieces and passes them to his neighbor on the 
right. At a signal each child tries to put his puzzle to- 
gether, and the first child who succeeds calls out to that 
effect. Each child then mixes his puzzle and passes it on 
to his right-hand neighbor as before. This is kept up for a 
half hour, when time is called, and the child with the big- 
gest score receives a prize. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 43 

BUTTONS. 

Buttons are used extensively in the sports of German 
children, with whom they form a sort of coinage, each sort 
having a stipulated exchangeable value. Traces of similar 
usage exist in the United States. 

A common New York game consists in throwing but- 
tons. A line is drawn and a hole made about twelve feet 
off. The players toss their buttons, and whoever comes 
nearest the hole has the first shot. He endeavors to drive 
the buttons of the rest into the hole, striking them with 
the extended thumb by a movement of the whole hand, 
which is kept flat and stiff. When he misses the next takes 
his turn, and so on. Whoever drives the adversary's but- 
ton into the hole wins it. 

Another game, for two players, is called "Spans." The 
buttons are cast against the wall, and if a player's button 
falls within a span of the adversary's, he may aim at it by 
striking as before. 

CAT AND MOUSE. 

This is always a favorite. All players form a ring, 
joining hands, except one called the Mouse, whom they 
enclose within the circle, and one who is on the outside 
who represents the cat. They then dance around, raising 
their arms at intervals. The cat watches the chance to 
spring into the circle at one side, and the mouse dashes 
out at the other — public sympathy being with the mouse, 
his or her movements are aided when possible. When the 
cat is in the circle, the players lower their arms so as to 
keep the enemy prisoner. The cat goes around meekly, 
crying "mew," while the rest dance around her. With a 
sudden "miaou!" she tries to break through any weak 
place in the chain of hands. 

As soon as she escapes she tries to catch the mouse, 
who runs for safety into the ring again, hotly pursued. If 
the cat is so near as to follow the mouse into the ring, be- 



44 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

fore her entrance can be prevented, or if she catches the 
mouse outside the circle, the mouse must pay a forfeit. Two 
more players are then named by the cat and mouse to suc- 
ceed them. 

CHRISTMAS CANDLES. 

A tiny Christmas tree with lighted candles is set on a 
table at a convenient height. Each child in turn is blind- 
folded and stationed with his back to the tree and about a 
foot from it. He is then told to take three steps forward, 
turn around three times, then walk four steps and blow as 
hard as he can. The one who blows out the most candles 
receives a prize. 

CHICKENS, FOX AND HOUND. 

This is a good game for girls to play alone; but if they 
can get two boys to join, it is just the thing. One of the 
boys takes the part of the hound and the other becomes 
the fox. The girls play the parts of chickens. As many 
girls may play as choose to take part. 

The girls pick out a leader, who must take the chick- 
ens out walking. The fox hides behind a tree, bush or other 
hiding place. The hound also hides somewhere, near the 
fox. 

When the chickens approach the place where the fox 
is concealed he must show himself. Thereupon the leader 
of the chickens cries: 

"A fox I see! A fox I see! 
Run to hiding behind me!" 

The chickens must all race then to get behind the 
leader. The fox rushes out and tries to catch a chicken. 
The hound must run out of his hiding place at the same 
moment and protect the chickens by getting between the 
leader and the fox. If he succeeds the fox must run away 
and hide again. If he fails, and the fox succeeds in getting 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements ± 5 

a chicken, he leads it away to his den, where it must stay 
till the game is ended. 

After he has caught a number of chickens — say five 
or six — the leader and the hound call to each other: 

"We must hunt the villain down !" 

Then they race after the fox, keeping the chickens be- 
hind them all the time. The fox seeks to escape leader and 
hound, ancl also tries to catch a chicken. The game ends 
when the fox is caught, or when he has caught all the chick- 
ens except the leader. 

"DEN." 

Here is an outdoor game : Each boy or girl must rep- 
resent a wild beast — lion, tiger, jaguar, etc. — and choose a 
separate tree for his "den." 

The game is to see how many beasts can start out on 
a foraging expedition and return to their "dens" without 
being captured (i. e., tagged). 

The moment a beast leaves his den any other beast is 
at liberty to try to capture (i. e., tag) him. If any beast 
does capture him, the captor cannot be tagged while he is 
dragging his captive home to his own "den." Once there, 
the captive must identify himself with his master and help 
him try to capture other beasts. The one who captures the 
largest number wins. 

FIRE! FIRE! 

After two captains have been chosen they proceed to 
select their particular following so that the company may 
be divided into two equal sides. They seat themselves in 
two rows, facing each other. 

One of the captains begins the game by throwing a 
ball or knotted handkerchief to one of the players on the 
opposite side, crying aloud at the same time: "Earth," 
"Air," "Fire," or "Water." 



46 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

He generally tries to throw it to one who is apparently 
least expecting it. If "Air" is the word called, the person 
in whose lap or near whom the missile falls must promptly 
name some denizen of the water; of "Earth," an animal — 
before the other can count ten — but at the word "Fire!" 
no reply whatever must be made. 

If the player answers correctly, he then throws the ball 
or handkerchief in his turn to one of his opponents; but 
if he fails to answer in time or replies incorrectly, or speaks 
when it is the prerogative of another, he drops out of the 
game. This rule is inexorable, for so is the winning side 
determined, the game progressing until all of one side have 
had to retire from the conflict. 

FOX AND GEESE. 

This game must be played in the snow. A smooth 
place is chosen and a circle is made with paths like the 
spokes of a wheel. The center, where the paths cross, is 
goal. There may be more than one circle, one outside of 
the other. The player who is the fox chases the others, 
trying to tag one of them. If he does tag one, that player 
is the fox. No player must run out of the paths, or if he 
does, he is the fox. The geese may jump across from one 
path to the other, but the fox cannot, and may not tag an- 
other across the paths. Only one player is safe in goal at 
a time. The last one only is safe, and all the others must 
leave or they may be tagged. The game is a variation of 
tag. 

FOX, GOOSE AND GEESE. 

This game is simplicity itself, yet it provokes shouts 
of merriment from the players. 

Two of the taller members of the party are chosen as 
Fox and Goose. Mother Goose gathers her flock in a long 
string behind her, each holding, by frock or jacket, the one 
in front. The Fox stands facing her, trying to dive under 




Fox and Geese in the Country. 



y 



48 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

her outstretched arms and capture the last of her train. If 
he succeeds the victim is put out of the game, which lasts 
until all the Geese are caught by the Fox, or a time limit 
may be imposed by the hostess. 

FOX AND HEN. 

This is a good out-of-doors game, though it may also 
be played in the house. 

One of the players is selected to be the Fox and another 
to be the Hen. The rest of the players are her chickens, 
who stand in a row behind her, holding each other by the 
hand. 

The Fox then hides in his den; — the most secluded spot 
he can find — and a tract is set apart to represent the farm- 
yard, on reaching which the chickens are safe from the fox, 
who must return to his den. 

The venturesome hen, followed by her brood, goes 
nearer and nearer the fox's den, asking politely, ''Please, 
Mr. Fox, can you tell me what time it is?" 

If he, to disarm her fears, answers, mildly, one, two or 
three, etc., they may go away without danger of pursuit, 
but if he replies, "Twelve o'clock at night !" the hen and her 
chicks must turn and fly, for he dashes out of the den and 
tries to seize one of them. If the fox succeeds in catching 
the hen, she must then become the fox, and the game be- 
gins again. If one of the chickens is caught, it is carried 
to the den, but endeavors to escape — the next time that the 
fox is called out — which adds to the interest of the game. 

A sly fox will delay the fearsome answer until the hen 
has grown less cautious, or he may answer her question by 
"Twelve o'clock — noon!" during which the uncertainty is 
alarming until it is known which division of the day is com- 
ing. 

"GOING TO JERUSALEM." 

"Going to Jerusalem" is always a favorite. As many 
chairs as there are players less one are set in two rows back 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements * 9 

to back. Some one begins to play on the piano. The play- 
ers form in a procession and walk around and around the 
chairs. Suddenly the music stops, and each player promptly 
tries to sit in the chair nearest him. One, of course, is left 
out in the scurry. A chair is taken away, and around and 
around they go again. The last person left has arrived at 
Jerusalem. 

GUARDING THE TREASURE. 

The equipment for the game is not difficult to procure; 
cans are always available. Decide by counting out who 
shall be "it," or the miser who must guard his treasure. 
The miser will take a position directly over the can, his 
treasure, one foot on each side. At least, this is the posi- 
tion usually chosen as being the best suited for guarding 
the can. There is no rule, however, about this, and some 
boys prefer other defences, as standing just behind the can 
or continually moving about it. The rest of the boys are 
robbers, and circle about it, attempting to steal the treas- 
ure, or, in other words, kick it away without being tagged. 
If one succeeds, another immediately kicks it, and away 
goes the can down the street with a crowd of yelling rob- 
bers after it, doing their best to keep the poor miser from 
regaining his position over the treasure. If the miser suc- 
ceeds in tagging any boy who has kicked the can, before 
another boy kicks it, the boy tagged becomes the miser 
and must stand over the treasure. 

HERE I BAKE, HERE I BREW. 

The players join hands in a circle, with one of their 
number in the middle, who is supposed to be a captive, 
longing for freedom and reduced to diplomatic means to 
secure it. 

The prisoner touches one pair of joined hands in the 
circle saying, "Here I Bake." Then, passing to the other 
side, says, "Here I Brew/' as she touches another pair of 



50 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



hands. Suddenly, then, in a place least suspected, per- 
haps whirling around and springing at two of the clasped 
hands behind her, or at the pair which she had touched be- 
fore, if their owners appear to be off guard, she exclaims 
"Here I mean to break through !" and forces her way out 
of the circle if she can. 

The players must be on the alert and strongly resist 
the captive's effort to escape. 

Those who permitted her to regain her freedom — 
through inattention or weakness — must then make use of 
the "counts" familiar to all generations of children, to de- 
cide which of them shall take the place of the prisoner. 




~.j^^wU» 



Hold Fast My Gold Ring. 



HOLD FAST MY GOLD RING. 

The children sit in a circle, or stand in a row, with 
hands closed; one takes the ring and goes around with it, 
tapping the closed fists of the players as if inserting the 
ring, and saying: 

Biddy, Biddy, hold fast my gold ring 
Till I go to London and come back again. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 51 

Each child in turn is then required to guess who has 
the ring, and, if successful, takes the leader's place; if un- 
successful, he pays forfeit. 

This is also known as, "Button, button, who's got the 
button?" 

Another form of the question is, "Fox, fox, who's got 
the box?" In England the game goes, 

My lady's lost her diamond ring, 
I pitch on you to find it. 

HOP-SCOTCH. 

This is very good practice for balancing the body and 
acquiring steadiness on the legs. It is sometimes called 
Lame Goose. Chalk or otherwise mark out on the ground 
a figure like the accompanying diagram, on a scale of four 
feet to an inch. 

Not more than two or three should play at one figure, 
or there will be too long a time between the turns. The 
players "pink" for first turn; that is, they pitch the stones 
or pieces of tile with which they are going to play at the 
cat's face at the rounded extremity, sometimes also called 
and drawn as "the pudding." He who gets nearest leads 
off. 

Standing at the square end he throws his tile into the 
compartment I, hops in and kicks the tile out — still hop- 
ping — to the standing point. He next throws the tile into 
No. II and kicks it out as before. He next goes to three 
and so on until he reaches No. 8, which is called the "rest- 
ing bed;" having reached this he may rest himself by put- 
ting his feet into six and seven, resuming his hopping po- 
sition, however, before he proceeds as before. Until he 
reaches the "cat's face" or "pudding," he may have as many 
kicks as he likes in kicking the tile out, but when he reaches 
that he must kick it through all the other divisions at one 
single kick, the successful achievement of which crowns 
the game. 



52 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

If the tile be pitched into a wrong number, or rests on 
one of the lines, either in pitching or kicking, or if it be 
kicked over the side lines, the player loses his innings; if 
he put both feet down, while in the figure except at the 
"resting bed/' or sets his foot, in hopping, on either of the 
lines, he suffers the same penalty. 

HUL GUL. 

This game is played by three, four, or more, who stand 
in a circle. A child then addresses his left-hand neighbor, 
and the dialogue is: 

"Hul Gul." 

"Hands full." 

"Parcel how many?" 

The second player then guesses the number, two 
guesses being sometimes allowed. If, for example, the 
guess is five, and the real number seven, the first responds, 
"Give me two to make it seven," and so on until all the 
counters have been gained by one player. The number 
allowed to be taken is often limited, by agreement, to six 
or ten. 

The counters are beans, grains of corn, marbles, nuts, 
and, in the South, chinquapins (an ovoid, pointed, sweet 
nut, half the size of a common chestnut). 

A childish trick is to expand the hand as if unable to 
hold the number of counters, when in fact they are but one 
or two. Oddly enough this same device is alluded to by 
Xenophon, as in use in his day in the game of "How 
Many?" — the classic equivalent of our game, in which the 
question was, "How many have I in that hand?" just as we 
say, "Parcel, how many?" So, in these sports, the interval 
of two thousand years vanishes. 

IT. 

If there be still anyone who has not heard of the game 
of "It," he is precisely the one who may furnish fun for 




Hopscotch. 



54: Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

the rest and be mystified to their heart's content. The 
question must be diplomatically put, and when one igno- 
rant of the game is found it is well to wait a bit before 
selecting him to be the first to leave the room. He is told 
that in his absence they will choose an object which he 
must discover upon his return by asking questions of each 
in succession, after the manner of the w T ell known game 
of Twenty Questions. The company arrange themselves 
in a semi-circle, and, should there be others in the room 
who are unacquainted with the trick, it is explained to them 
that the object to be guessed is the left-hand neighbor of 
each person questioned — always alluded to as "It." 

It must be confessed that the fun is rather at the ex- 
pense of the questioner. 

Another may be puzzled by the company's agreeing 
upon the right-hand, or opposite neighbor, the person 
whom they spoke of last, or their host or hostess. 

The fun is increased if the company is arranged so that 
the questioner interrogates a lady and gentleman alter- 
nately. 

JACK STONES. 

This game is played with five jacks and a small rub- 
ber ball. For ones the player tosses up the ball and while 
it is still in the air picks up a jack, and so on until he has 
finished his ones. For twos he picks up two jacks instead 
of one, and for threes three jacks, and then two, and fours 
four jacks and one, and for fives all five jacks. 

Next elevens are played. The ball is thrown in the 
air and one jack placed in the left hand, the ball being al- 
lowed to bounce once before catching it. This is kept up 
as in ones until fifteen is reached. 

For twenty-ones the ball is tossed in the air, the jack 
being picked up in the right hand, allowing the ball to 
bounce once, and then placed in the left hand the ball bounc- 
ing again before the player catches it. This is finished when 
twenty-five is reached. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 55 

Here are some suggestions for thirties, forties, etc.: 

Knock at Door. — The ball being thrown up, motions 
according to the title are to be made on the floor while it 
is in the air. 

Around the World. — The ball thrown in the* air, the 
player must pick up a jack and with the jack in the hand 
go around the ball while it is in the air; the ball is then 
allowed to bounce once before being caught. This is con- 
tinued until the fives are reached. 

The player might make motions according to the title 
of Rock the Baby, Scrub the Floor, etc. 

As soon as one player misses he is out of the game and 
another one starts. 

KING'S ARMORY. 

Each child takes the name of some weapon or piece 
of armor in the king's armory, such as, broadsword, shield, 
dagger, helmet, lance, bow, arrow, breastplate, gauntlet. 
The children are seated in a large circle — all but one, who 
stands in the centre, and takes a tin plate or round tray, 
twirls it around upon its edge f on the floor, calling at the 
same time the name of one of the pieces of armor. Upon 
this the player who bears the name called tries to catch the 
platter before it falls. Should he fail he must pay a forfeit 
and take the spinner's place. Otherwise he has no forfeit 
to pay, simply spinning the platter next time. After the 
game the forfeits are redeemed. 

KING OF THE CASTLE. 

The king is chosen by any one of the counting-out 
rhymes. Fate, therefore, having rejected all but one, he 
takes possession of a mound or hillock and bids defiance to 
his foes. He taunts them with abusive epithets as: 

"I'm the king of the castle; 

Get down, you cowardly rascal!" 



56 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

He is then assailed by the other players, every one a 
claimant for his position of eminence, and, alone, he must 
try to maintain it. 

-Fair pulls and pushes are allowed, but the clothes must 
not be pulled, under penalty of being set aside as a Pris- 
oner of War, which really means expulsion from the game. 

Sometimes the king is permitted to have an ally, who 
merely stands by to see fair play, and to capture any one 
breaking the rules. 

The odds against the king, beset by so many enemies, 
are so great that he does not long retain his position, and 
the one who dethrones him takes his place and possession 
of the "Castle." 

LAWN HAB-ENIHAN. 

Mark with a whitewash brush upon the grass, or scratch 
with a stick upon the bare ground or hard sand twelve con- 
centric circles. Number the rings from the outside to the 
centre. 

Supply each player with a dozen smooth stones about 
the size of the palm of one's hand. If you can get flat 
water-washed stones with rounded edges they make the 
best "nabs." Standing upon the taw line at the distance 
from the target agreed upon, each player in turn pitches a 
hab at the target or "enihan," leaving a stone inside the 
circle struck. But if his hab rests upon a line which bounds 
the rings he loses his turn after the first shot. The player 
may remove a hab from the circle last struck, or set an- 
other hab in it, or, counting from where any one of his 
habs rest, can move that hab as many circles toward the 
centre as correspond with the number of the circles last 
struck. 

If this moves the hab to the centre and leaves some 
figures over he can place a new hab forward as many rings 
as correspond with the numbers left over. If any player 
can cast two habs into a circle occupied by some other 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 57 

player's hab the successful player captures the other hab 
and removes it. The game consists of any specified num- 
ber of points, and when any one of the players has no habs 
on the enihan the game is ended. Then each player counts 
the number of his habs in the centre and the number of cap- 
tured habs, and whoever has the most adds to his or her in- 
dividual score the number of habs left on the enihan. The 
players have three objects constantly in view: to protect 
their habs from capture by getting more than one in the 
same circle, to work to the centre, and to capture the op- 
ponent's habs. This is a good outdoor game. 

LEAP FROG. 

The players stand behind each other forming a long 
line, the first player in the line makes a back, the second 
leaps over, and makes a back a few feet farther on, the 
first one still remaining down. The third player goes over 
the first one and then the other, forming another back in 
the same manner as the second, and so on until all the line 
are down. The boy who made the first back starts again, 
and leaps each of the backs, and makes another back at 
the end, and the next player does the same, and thus a 
continually advancing line of backs is formed. If the 
players, are anxious to get over the ground quickly they 
can run a dozen yards or so before "going down." 

MARBLES. 

Round-Ring. — This game consists in striking the 
marbles out of a ring, by shooting from a line or taw, 
drawn as a limit. If a player succeeds in knocking one or 
more out of the ring, he is entitled to another play. And 
keeps all he knocks out. 

Pug. — Four holes are made in the ground, three in 
a line about two feet apart, the fourth about three feet 
from the others, is made smaller and is off to one side. 
The players start from a line and the one who makes the 




Leap Frog. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 59 

tour of the holes and gets back to the starting point first 
wins the game. If successful in making a hole a player is 
allowed another shot, — he can either make for the next 
hole or have the privilege of shooting any marble away 
that may be near the hole. If he succeeds in this, he is 
allowed to go back to the hole from which he just shot 
and start for the next one. 

One Hole. — Either a cap is placed on the ground or 
a round hole is dug. Each player takes ten marbles in his 
hand and tries to throw all of them into the cap or hole 
at one throw. He reclaims all that go in, but leaves those 
that fall outside where they drop. The players throw in 
turn, any player who gets the whole ten marbles into the 
cap or hole takes the marbles that are lying around it. 

Spanners. — This game is for two players only. The 
first player shoots a marble, the second tries to shoot his 
marble against or within a span of it. The players shoot 
alternately, but when one is successful he has another shot 
and the other player pays him a marble. 

Picking the Plums. — Two straight lines are drawn par- 
allel to one another, from four to eight feet apart. Each 
player places two or three marbles, which are called 
"plums," upon one of these lines, leaving about an inch be- 
tween them. The players in turn "knuckle down" at the 
other line and shoot at the "plums," those hit being kept 
by the successful shooter, but a second shot is not allowed 
till the next round. If a player fails to hit a "plum," he 
must add one to the row to be shot at. 

Long Ring. — In the "long ring" game a figure almost 
like a crescent was drawn on the ground, and then some 
distance away a straight line called the "base" was drawn. 
This last was the starting place. The player stood on this 
line and pegged at the first four or five marbles placed in 
the crescent. If he struck one and knocked it out of the 



60 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

ring it was his. He then picked up his "shooter," and knuck- 
ling down to the lines of the crescent, he shot at the other 
marbles in succession. Those he knocked out were his. If 
by any chance he should carom from one marble to another, 
knocking out both, his opponent would try to yell "fen 
dubs" first. This would prevent the player from claiming 
both marbles. 

MAY-POLE DANCE. 

In the center of the green- the May-pole stands with the 
parti-colored ribbons trailing from its tapering top. At 
a signal each ribbon is taken in the hand of a child. There 
is a May song with a sonorous and rhythmic cadence. 
In and out the children pass, now under this ribbon, now 
over that, weaving a silken mantle for the pole. The other 
children crowd around and laugh and clap their hands, and 
when the ribbons are unwound again they, too, take their 
turn in the dance. Sometimes the pole is so small that two 
or three children bear it like a standard, and followed by 
the rest march gaily to a chosen place, where it is planted 
and the ceremonies celebrated in due form and order. 

This story of the May-pole is an interesting one, and 
few of those who see it in these modern days can trace its 
origin. It began in the pagan celebration of the Floralian 
festival 242 B. C. The ceremonies were commenced by the 
Romans on April 28, and continued through several days in 
May. 

Following the custom of the Romans, May-day was 
formerly observed in nearly all parts of the civilized world, 
and the original Floralian festival was pretty closely car- 
ried out. This was true in nearly all parts of England, but 
especially at Lynn as late as 1827, where the games were 
observed with remarkable fidelity to the Roman originals. 

The fact that a colony of Romans settled there about 
the time of the introduction of Christianity into Britain is 
doubtless the reason for the imitation. A garland was 




May-pole Dance. 



62 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

made of two hoops of the same size, fixed transversely, and 
attached to a pole. Flowers and evergreens were tied 
around the hoops, on the interior of which festoons of 
blown birds' eggs and gayly colored ribbons were pendant 
from the top. A full-dressed doll in representation of Flora, 
who had dominion over the spring and was chief deity of 
the flowers, was seated in the center and proudly borne in 
all directions about the town, attended by musicians. 
Previous to the Reformation May-day was elaborately cel- 
ebrated at Lynn, but having been declared by order of coun- 
cil in 1644 to be illegal it was practically abolished. After 
the Resoration, however, there was a revival of public 
patronage, and two new May-poles were erected at Lynn; 
but the celebration of the festival never recovered its for- 
mer splendor. 

The return of Charles II. was the signal in London, as 
elsewhere in England, for the celebration of May 1, and, on 
the very first May-day in 1661 a pole was raised in the 
Strand with great pomp, and it was declared by one of the 
historians of the times that it was a hundred and thirty-four 
feet high. In rearing these May-poles there was a set form 
of ceremonies that was carefully followed. In some in- 
stances from twenty to forty yoke of oxen, with their horns 
tastefully bedecked with flowers and garlands, were em- 
ployed to bring them from the forest. The pole itself was 
completely covered with flowers and sweet herbs, and 
escorted to its destination by several hundred men, women 
and children, waving flags and handkerchiefs. Then when 
the pole was raised came the song: 

The May-pole is up, 

Now give me the cup ; 
I'll drink to the garlands around it ; 

But first unto those 

Whose hands did compose 
The glory of flowers that crown'd it. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 63 

MINISTER'S CAT. 

This will brush up the wits of little folks, and the con- 
test is usually voted good fun. 

Each one in turn is required to apply some adjective 
beginning with "A" to the Minister's Cat, which is sup- 
posed to be under discussion. No two answers must be 
alike. One must say: "The minister's cat is an aristocratic 
cat." The next: "The minister's cat is an aggravating 
cat," etc. 

When anyone is unable to answer in turn he drops out 
of the game, and only when the supply has been exhausted 
so that all have dropped out, the players start anew with 
the adjectives beginning with "B," "C," and so on. It is 
not permitted to have recourse to a dictionary. 

MY LADY'S TOILETTE. 

The children are seated about the room. One of the 
older ones stands in the middle of the floor with a plate, a 
tin pie-dish or a wooden bread-platter in her hand. Each 
child takes the name of some article required in a lady's 
toilette, such as hairpin, brush, mirror, scent-bottle, etc. 
The leader spins the platter, at the same time calling the 
name of one of the articles. The child who has chosen that 
article must spring and catch the platter before it falls. If 
she fails, she must pay a forfeit. 

Redeeming the forfeits, with their absurd penalties, 
prolongs the pleasure, and is indeed a game in itself. 

NAUGHTY STRAW MAN. 

A straw figure completely dressed is fastened to a tree 
in such a way that it hangs about a foot from the ground. 
He must have one arm fastened akimbo to his side, and the 
other hanging free. After the players have had their eyes 
bandaged and been furnished with a stick, the game be- 
gins. The object is to thrust the stick through the opening 



64: Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

made by the arm which is fastened akimbo. Whoever suc- 
ceeds in doing so may claim a prize. Of course, it often 
happens that the player misses, and receives a light pat for 
clumsiness from the straw man's hanging arm. If any 
player misses the goal and passes the naughty straw man, 
the bandage is removed and the player is considered out of 
the game. 

ODD OR EVEN. 

A small number of beans or other counters are held in 
the hand, and the question is, "Odd or even?" If the guess 
is even, and the true number odd, it is said, "Give me one 
to make it odd," and vice versa. The game is continued 
until all the counters belong to one or the other of the two 
players. 

This amusement was familiar in ancient Greece and 
Rome, as it is in modern Europe. In the classic game the 
player gained or lost as many as he held in his hand. 

ORACLES. 

Little girls have always been, and always will be, fond 
of oracles, and I have seen them pass many happy moments 
in determining their future by counting out the petals of a 
daisy, or, in lieu of that, the buttons on their frocks. To 
determine the occupation of the future husband this form- 
ula is used: 

"Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, 
Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief," 

repeating until all the petals are plucked from the flower, 
or the buttons have all been counted. 

In like manner, determine the residence by asking the 
daisy, "Brick house, stone house, frame," etc. 

To determine the wedding dress, put the questions, 
"Silk, satin, velvet, calico, rags." 

The bridal equipage: "Coach, carriage, wagon, wheel- 
barrow, chaise." 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 65 

Counting Apple Seeds. — Some person names the ap- 
ple for you, then snaps it with the finger. Cut the apple, 
take out the seeds one by one, repeating this rhyme : 

One I love, 

Two I love, 

Three I love, I say; 

Four I love with all my heart, 

Five I cast away; 

Six he loves, 

Seven she loves, 

Eight they both love; 

Nine he comes, 

Ten he tarries, 

Eleven he courts, 

Twelve he marries; 

Thirteen wishes, 

Fourteen kisses; 

All the rest little witches/' 

Dandelions, when gone to seed, are plucked carefully, 
and by blowing hard on them three times determines wheth- 
er you will be married in a year. If the seeds be all blown 
off, it is yes. This also means that your mother wants you. 

PASSING THE RING. 

The children form a circle, with one child in the center. 
On a string long enough to reach around the circle a gold 
ring is threaded, and the children, holding the string loose- 
ly in their hands, slip the ring along from hand to hand. 
The player in the center watches closely, trying to catch 
the ring under the hand of some child, who must take his 
place. 

POST TOWN. 

This is an interesting game for children of nine or ten, 
who know something of geography and are familiar with 







Passing the Ring. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 67 

the names of places. One is chosen postmaster. Each 
child takes the name of any town she prefers. If there are 
too many for the postmaster to remember, he writes down 
the names and holds the list in his hand. He then calls out, 
"I am going to send a letter from Richmond to Boston/' 
for instance; the children bearing the names of the towns 
mentioned exchange seats. If they fail to do so, the one 
who does not respond pays a forfeit. Occasionally he ex- 
claims, "General post!" Then everyone must change 
places ; if anyone does not secure a seat, she must pay a for- 
feit, and these are redeemed when the game is over. Excite- 
ment is added if long postal routes, including many cities, 
are named. 

POTATO RACE. 

This is a contest in which both sexes and all ages may 
join. Two rows of potatoes are laid along the ground for 
a distance of a hundred feet or so, about five feet apart. A 
basket or pail is placed at the farther end from which the 
contestants start. Two persons pick up the potatoes, one 
by one, on the spoon, without touching them with the 
hand, and carry them safely to be dropped into the basket. 
One may select the potatoes in any order one pleases, but 
must make a separate trip for each one. 

Sometimes they try to fling the potato into the basket 
from a distance, but if it falls short it must be picked up, 
again with the spoon, and time is lost. When all have 
had their turn the winners are pitted against each other 
until one of the two remaining contestants has proved him- 
self the more skilful. 



PRISONER'S BASE. 

Two captains are chosen, who select a player alternate- 
ly, until all belong to one side or another. They then pro- 
ceed to mark out two bases or homes, opposite and at 



68 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

some distance from one another, and near to each a smaller 
base, called the "prison." They toss for bases. 

The game begins by one side's sending out a player, 
who goes as near as he dares toward the base of the op- 
ponents, until one of the enemy starts out in pursuit of 
him, when he makes for home. If he is touched before he 
gets there he becomes a prisoner to the side which cap- 
tured him, and must stand in their prison. He goes alone 
to take his punishment for the pursuing player is himself 
the object of pursuit by another player of the opposite 
side, detailed to make reprisals. 

A player may touch only an opponent who has left 
home before himself, and can be touched only by the one 
who left home after he did. 

When a player has made a prisoner he may return 
home untouched, and is subject to capture only after mak- 
ing a fresh sally. 

One of the exciting points of the game is when a player 
runs the gauntlet of the enemy and delivers out of prison 
one of his own side who has been made captive. This is 
done by touching the one who is a prisoner. 

A prisoner is only obliged to keep part of his body in 
durance. If but one foot be within the prison line, he may 
reach out as far as he can in the direction of home — which 
facilitates his deliverance by a comrade. When there are 
several prisoners, all that is required is that one of them 
shall touch the prison, while the rest may join hands in a 
line, stretching homeward. But one prisoner, however, 
may be delivered at a time. 

The game continues until all the players on one side 
or the other are in the prison. 

ROOSTER AND HEN. 

As many girls and boys as wish catch hold of each 
other's coat-tails and skirts. The foremost one is the 
rooster and the rest are hens. One player stands about 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



69 



fifteen feet away and makes motions with his leg like a 
rooster scratching. The one who is playing the rooster 
says: 

"What are you doing, strange creature?" 

"Scratching a hole," replies the "strange creature." 

"What will you do with the hole?" 

"Find a stone in it." 

"What will you do with the stone?" 

"Sharpen a knife with it." 

"What will you do with the knife?" 

"Slaughter a hen!" shouts the "strange creature," and 
makes a dash at the rooster and hens. Now all the "hens" 
must try to escape, but they must not let go of the rooster 
or of each other. The consequence is that there is great 
opportunity for agility and cleverness in dodging, and the 
game is full of fun. Of course, the "strange creature" can 
catch hen after hen in the end. When none is left, the 
rooster selects a new rooster and becomes the "strange 
creature" himself. 

ROPE SKIPPING. 

It is the song of the skipping rope, being sung by child- 
ish voices in time with the whirling of strands of hemp. 
Everywhere little girls are welcoming bright days with 
dancing feet beneath which are passing thousands of 
skipping ropes. By twos, fours and half-dozens the girls 
dance in time with the swinging rope, repeating in sing- 
song tones the verse of the hundred skips. Proud, indeed, 
are the youngsters who complete the hundred turns of the 
rope without mishap. 

Sometimes as many as twenty-five children assemble 
for a skipping-rope contest. Then ropes swing violently, 
cries of excitement arise and loud laughter follows each 
mix-up of ropes and faltering feet. 

"Sugar," calls out the leader of the game and the rope 
swings slowly, with all the crowd, even to the littlest ones, 




Rope-skipping. 



"Ke clip, ke clop. Ke clip, ke clop. 
A hundred times before we stop. 
And if we trip, as trip we may, 
We'll try again some other day." 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 71 

dancing. Successively, the leader calls for "pepper," "salt," 
"mustard" and "vinegar," the rope swinging faster and 
faster at each call. As the speed increases the clumsy chil- 
dren find themselves unable to hold the pace and drop out. 
The girl who dances "vinegar" the longest wins. 

SPIDER WEB. 

From the hall lamp or from the claws of a huge paper 
spider suspended in the hall, hang as many ends of colored 
twine as there are children. Each child is given one and 
told to follow the string until he comes to the end, winding 
it as he goes around table legs, over doors, in and out 
through the banisters, upstairs and down they go, until 
each child has found at the end of his string some small 
gift. 

STAGE COACH. 

The players of this game are seated in a circle. Then 
each one is given a name, which must be some part of the 
coach, such as, wheel, spoke, axle, etc. One of the party 
stands in the center of the circle and begins telling a story 
about a stage coach, bringing in all the different parts of 
the coach. As each part is spoken of in the story the per- 
son given that part runs around his chair. After the story 
has been going on for some time the story teller says the 
words "stage coach," when every one must leave his seat 
and get a different one. As there is one less chair, some- 
one must stand and that person must tell the story. This 
game needs the close attention of all players. 

TAG. 

In "Cross Tag" the pursuer must follow whoever comes 
between him and the pursued. 

In Japanese Tag, sometimes called "Squat Tag," the 
fugitive is safe while in that position. 

In Iron Tag the pursued party is safe whenever touch- 



72 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

ing iron in any shape, as the ring of a post, a horseshoe, 
grille or fence. 

Blind Tag is so called because the pursuer, commonly 
known as "It," is known only to the person who "tagged" 
him, and who keeps up a feint of trying to catch others, to 
mislead the rest. A sense of mystery is the attraction of this 
form of the game, and the additional excitement of seeing 
a possible enemy player who approaches near enough to 
touch one. 

Stag Tag is a merry variety of the game that is popular 
with girls and little children. The "It" is called the "Stag," 
who, when successful in touching another player, appro- 
priates him or her as an ally, and hand in hand they pur- 
sue the others, until a third joins them and then a fourth, 
forming a line, until all of the players have joined the 
chain. 

Flag Tag. — Two leaders are chosen, who, in turn, 
choose sides. A line is marked off on the playground, and 
on each side of it at equal distances (twelve feet or more 
from the line) a small American flag is stuck into the 
ground. These flags the leaders guard. The object of the 
players on each side is to seize their opponents' flag. The 
leaders may prevent this by "tagging" anyone who comes 
near, and the child thus "tagged" is out of the game. When, 
by dodging and running, a player finally seizes a flag and 
carries it over the line into his own territory, the game is 
won and the players on his side each receive a small silk 
flag as a prize. 

Medicine Ball Tag. — A "medicine-ball" is made with 
either a leather or a canvas cover, and stuffed with cotton 
to weigh from three to twelve pounds. One of the players 
is selected to be "tagger" and another carries the ball. The 
"tagger" tries to touch the ball, and when it is touched the 
player in whose hand it w T as last is "it." Players can run 
carrying the ball, or save themselves by throwing the ball 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



73 




Three-Legged Race. 



to another player. The ball should be constantly changing 
hands. 

THREE-LEGGED RACE. 

Four contestants submit to be tied together in couples, 
the right leg of one firmly strapped to the left leg of his 
companion just below the knee and at the ankle. They are 
carried or dragged to the starting place, and someone 



74 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

counts the time-honored formula, "One, two, three — go!" 
At the word "Go!" they start, or try to; sometimes coming 
down upon their knees or falling flat, to be helped up, amid 
the cheers of their sympathizers or howls of derision. The 
two who are able to reach the goal first win the race. 

TOPS. 

Peg in the Ring. — A large ring, a yard in diameter, is 
marked, with a smaller one, a foot in diameter, within it. 
A player begins the game by spinning his top in the smaller 
ring. The next "pegs" at it, trying to split it. If a top, 
when it stops spinning, remains in either of the circles it 
must be placed "dead" in the inner circle for the other 
players to peg at. If, however, it rolls clear, as it should 
do if well spun, the player spins it again. Each player spins 
again as soon as he can get his top, and is allowed to peg at 
every top, dead or spinning, within the inner ring. When 
a player successfully splits a top he keeps the peg as a trophy. 

How to Make Them. — One of the simplest forms of this 
plaything can be made from a large wooden button such 
as ladies sometimes wear on cloaks. If the button has been 
covered the cloth must be removed. Through a hole in 
the center pass a small peg that will fit so tightly that the 
button will not slip. Leave the peg nearly three times as 
long on one side of the button as it is on the other, and 
whittle each end to a smooth point. This will enable you 
to spin the top on either the long or short end and the 
different motions produced will add greatly to your amuse- 
ment. To set it in motion twirl the peg between the thumb 
and forefinger of the right hand, or the palms of both hands, 
and at the same time drop it gently upon a floor or some 
other smooth surface. Figure i will show how this top is 
made and how it looks when spinning on the long end of 
the peg. 

To make a whip top take a piece of wood that is shaped 
like a cvlinder, and about one and a half inches in diameter. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



75 



With a compass mark out the exact center of the stick at 
one end. At this point bore a small hole into which drive 
a piece of iron wire. This wire should be cut off about 
three-eighths of an inch from the wood. Now make two 
circles around the wood, the first to be an inch from the 
end in which the wire has been driven and the other one 




MAGIC TOP 



HUMMING TOP 
Tops. 



three-quarters of an inch beyond. Commence at the first 
circle and with a sharp knife cut the wood down to a point 
and smooth this cut surface with a file. Figure 2 shows the 
exact shape in which the top should be made. Now saw 
off this piece as true as possible at the second circle and the 
top is made. The whip, Figure 3, is made of a small round 
stick, a little more than a foot long, to which a piece of 



76 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

cord is fastened for a lash. To set the top going give it a 
whirling motion with the palms of the hands. By whipping 
it properly it can be kept spinning for a long time. 

Magic Top (Fig. 4). — Insert a sharp-pointed, soft lead 
pencil in an empty spool, driving a little plug into the up- 
per part of the spool to hold by when winding. 

Now you have a top ready to be spun, and it is a magic 
top, for it will make all sorts of unexpected marks as it 
spins around and around on a sheet of soft white paper. 

Try it. 

A Humming Top (Fig. 5). — The materials are an 
empty baking-powder canister, or any wooden box, and two 
pieces of firewood. The plan of operations is to cut a slit 
in the side of the box answering to the hole in the toy, mak- 
ing it half an inch square or round, as the case may be, and 
making a hole in the lid and bottom of the box for the spin- 
dle to come through. To make a good job of it, the bottom 
hole should be square and the top hole round, and the spin- 
dle should be cut to fit, pushing it in, of course, from the 
bottom. 

When the holes and spindle are cut, put a little glue 
round the lid to make the box tight, and insert the spindle 
with a little glue at each hole. 

For the usual fork or handle with which the top is 
spun, a plain slip of wood with a hole at the end will be 
found to answer. 

When the top is dry, wind round the string, passing it 
through the hole in the handle, as shown, and spin. 

TRUSSED FOWLS. 

Two boys seat themselves on the floor, their hands 
are tied together with handkerchiefs, their ankles secured 
in the same manner, their arms made to embrace their 
bent knees, and a broom-stick passed over one arm, under 
the knees, and over the other arm of each of them. They 
are placed so their toes just touch each other, and in that 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



77 



position must try to overturn each other by pushing with 
their toes only. Sometimes both are upset and lie help- 
less on their backs until some one comes to their rescue. 
The game continues until one succeeds in oversetting his 
adversary while retaining his own seat. 




Tug of War. 



TUG OF WAR. 

The players divide themselves into equal sides, a rope 
is laid straight along the ground, a line is then drawn at 
right angles to the rope, and exactly in the middle of it. 
The sides each take one end of the rope; when all is ready 
the signal to "go" is given, upon which each side does its 
best to pull the other over the line. The side that wins two 
out of three pulls wins the game. 

WAGGING MANDARIN. 

The leader says to the neighbor on her right, "My ship 
has come home from China !" The one to whom she says 
this asks, "What has it brought?" "A fan," the leader re- 



78 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



plies, and pretends to fan herself with her right hand, ev- 
ery one imitating her. The one to whom she had spoken 
then says to the neighbor on her right, "My ship has come 
home from China," to whom the question is put in turn, 
"What has it brought?" "Two fans," she replies, making 
the gesture of fanning herself with both hands, while every 
one follows her example. The statement, "My ship has 
come home from China," and the question, "What has it 
brought?" continues from one player to another. The 




Wagging Mandarin. 

third player, announcing that her ship has brought three 
fans, moves her right foot as well as her two hands, every 
one 'else doing the same thing. At "four fans" all move 
both hands and both feet. At "five fans," the hands, feet 
and right eyelid; at "six fans," hands, feet and both eye- 
lids; at "seven fans," hands, feet, eyelids and mouth, and 
at "eight fans," hands, feet, eyelids, mouth and head. This 
transforms the whole company into a group of Chinese 
mandarins. The one who first fails in keeping up the 
movements must pay a forfeit. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 7d 

WARNING. 

One of the players having been chosen "Warner," 
takes his stand at the place marked off as "home," the rest 
remaining at a little distance from it. 

The Warner then calls "Warning !" three times, and 
sallies forth with his hands clasped in front of him. In 
this position he must try to touch one of the other players, 
who strive to make him unclasp them by pulling his arms, 
drawing temptingly near, etc. If they succeed in making 
him loose his clasp, or if he does so by inadvertence, he 
must run home as fast as possible. 

If he is caught before reaching his place as Warner, 
he must go out in the field and the one who touched him be- 
comes Warner. If he succeeds in touching anyone with- 
out unclasping his hands the captive becomes his ally and 
they both run home as fast as they can. Once home, they 
are safe, and they then start out hand in hand, after call- 
ing the three warnings, and try to capture another, with- 
out loosing their hold. Every captured player is added to 
their ranks, but every one must be taken home first before 
he is admitted to a share in the fight. 

The line of Warners thus increasing, the difficulty of 
evading capture grows greater at every accession to their 
ranks, but it is also a source of weakness, being unwieldy; 
and if the hands do not hold to each other tightly, a player 
at large may break through at any weak point in the line 
and escape capture. 

The field of play must be within rather narrow limits, 
for the only chance of the pursuing party to make cap- 
tures is to pen or corner the fugitives. 

The last player to escape being taken becomes the 
next Warner. 

WINK. 

Wink is an indoor game and there must be just one 
more boy than there are girls. The boys stand around in 



80 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

a circle behind chairs, while the girls sit down. There is 
one boy who has a chair, but no girl, so he can wink at any 
girl and she must try to leave her chair and come to his 
without the boy behind her knowing it. If he sees the boy 
wink at the girl in his chair he can hold her back and thus 
the boy will have to try to get some other girl. 







GAMES for CHILDREN 

12 to 16 YEARS 




ALLITERATION. 

This is a memory exercise. The leader begins by re- 
peating the first sentence, which is said by each player in 
turn. The leader in every case adds the new line, copied 
by the other players in succession. Anyone making a mis- 
take or omission drops out of the contest. As the ranks 
grow thinner, the players are required to repeat the sen- 
tences more rapidly, and no time for hesitation allowed. 
The one who makes no mistakes is entitled to a prize. 

The sentences are as follows: 

i. One old ox opening oysters. 

2. Two toads teetotally trying to trot to Trixburg. 

3. Three tony tigers taking tea. 

4. Four fishermen fishing for frogs. 

5. Five fantastic Frenchmen fanning five fainting 
females. 

6. Six slippery snakes sliding slowly southward. 

7. Seven Severn salmon swallowing several shrimps. 

8. Eight egotistical Englishmen eating enormously. 

9. Nine nautical Norwegians nearing neighboring 
Norway. 

10. Ten tiny, toddling tots trying to train their 
tongues to trill. 

ALPHABETS. 

Progressive Alphabets is the title given a new game 
which has been found highly entertaining for an evening 
company. 

Prepare as many sets of alphabets as there are tables, 
having the letters on cards of a size easily distinguished 
and plain on the reverse. Upon the head table have a bell, 
as usual, and let the tally-cards be numbered for tables and 



82 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

for partners in the customary way. The tables then are 
numbered as follows: i, Literature; 2, Geography; 3, Bot- 
any; 4, History; 5, Zoology — though, of course, any pre- 
ferred order of arrangement may be adopted. When part- 
ners have been drawn, places found, and the game is to 
commence, scatter an alphabet face downward on each ta- 
ble, from which letters are to be drawn by the players in 
turn. At the ringing of the bell, play begins at all tables. 

The first player turns over a card and endeavors to 
give a name beginning with the letter thus faced upward, 
under the subject to which the table is devoted, botanical, 
historical, literary, or whatever it may be. If he cannot do 
so promptly, any other player guessing such a name is al- 
lowed to take the letter away from him, and the turn at 
drawing passes on to the next player at the left. Partners 
keep their letters together, and those having the highest 
number when the bell rings have their tally-cards punched. 
In the first series of progressions, all players leave each ta- 
ble at the same time, but may change partners on progress- 
ing to the next, until each four has played at every table. 

Then the second round begins, in which the winning 
couples alone progress and the losers remain, but partners 
are changed at all tables on every move. When five games 
(or as many games as there are tables) have again been 
played, a third round may be entered upon or not, at pleas- 
ure or convenience of the hostess, but. this final round is 
often the merriest and most exciting of all. Playing rap- 
idly and moving from one to another, players are apt to 
guess "Shakspere" at the botany table as under literature, 
perhaps give "Oyster" as a historical character or shout 
"Japan" at the zoology table, being sometimes a difficult 
letter, while Q and X are occasionally left unguessed. 
Should more than a moment or two elapse without any 
word being supplied, the letter is left face upward and play 
passes on. If sudden inspiration strike any player later, 
he can give a word at any time and claim the card. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 83 

As to the use of double names, the most satisfactory 
ruling is that either given name or surname is permissible, 
but not both in one round. For example, if W be turned 
up under literature, "Washington Irving" may claim it, 
but in the same deal the letter I could not afterward be 
taken with "Irving." 

It will be seen that the game allows expansion, as ta- 
bles may be added for Art, Music, the Drama, etc., or the 
others could be subdivided in various original ways which 
experience speedily suggests. Details of prizes, refresh- 
ments, or decorations would form another story, and it is 
the wisest to let each occasion make its own excuse as to 
whether lavish elaboration or modest simplicity be the key- 
note chosen 

APRIL FOOL GAME. 

Let one of your party take a place in a secluded cor- 
ner, mysteriously curtained and dimly lighted. Blindfold 
her carefully. Then constitute yourself her agent. 

Go to the drawing-room, or wherever your guests are 
assembled, and make some such speech as the following: 

"Ladies and Gentlemen: We have with us this even- 
ing a most wonderful character, Madame Mystique, who 
has the rare power of second sight. So great is her power 
that even though she has been carefully blindfolded and 
cannot by any possibility see with her natural eyes, she can 
tell you anything that you have done, positively anything! 
We back up this assertion with a guarantee of a five-pound 
box of candy to anyone who proves the contrary, provided 
he has observed the few conditions that we ask everyone 
to observe. Now who will be the first to test Madame Mys- 
tique's power?" 

All will be eager for first chance, of course. Take one 
to the madame's corner and present him to her. She will 
respond with a slow, silent bow. 

Then whisper to him that the best way to test mad- 



84: Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

ame's power will be to go through some form of dumb mo- 
tion, for fear her sense of hearing might be of assistance 
to her in lieu of her eyes. Tell him the more complicated 
the motion, for instance, throwing a kiss, bowing and plac- 
ing the hand on the heart, all in rapid succession, the more 
difficult for her to describe it. Ask that as soon as he has 
performed whatever motion he decides on, he will kindly 
ask: "Well, madame, and what did I do?" Then, leaving 
him alone with her, withdraw a short distance. 

In a moment he will perform some motion and ask: 
"What did I do?" 

Madame will keep him in suspense for a moment, and 
then reply as follows: 

"You made a fool of yourself." 

Everyone who has been thus caught is permitted to 
stand back out of the way, but within hearing, so that he 
may enjoy the joke on the next person. 

HAND BALL. 

Handball is one of the best games that there is to de- 
velop every muscle in the body. It is much on the order of 
tennis, only that it is more severe and requires a much 
quicker eye and a greater exertion of the muscles to excel 
in it when played in a regular court that has four walls and 
a hard floor. The regulation game is played with a ball 
about half the size of a baseball and just as hard, and the 
speed that this ball acquires when coming off a hard wall 
is terrific, and it requires exact judgment on the part of 
the player to know what angle the ball will come off a side 
w r all and then to be there to meet it. A good game for boys 
is to play against a single wall. The side of a building or a 
high board fence will answer the purpose if the ground in 
front for about fifty feet is smooth and level. Take a space 
about fifteen to twenty feet wide on the wall and mark it 
off. Then space off a court about thirty or forty feet long, 
or less if this size cannot be gotten. Mark a line about fif- 




Hand Ball. 



86 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

teen feet from the front wall across the court and serve the 
ball from that line or behind it within the lines of the court. 
Your opponent must return the ball to the front within the 
prescribed lines or else the server makes a point. Should 
the man that is playing out return the ball to the front wall 
it is then up to the server to return it again to the front wall, 
and unless he is able to so return it he loses his turn to 
serve and his opponent goes to the serving line and he then 
tries to serve the ball so that it cannot be returned, or places 
it on one of the returns in such a place that his opponent 
cannot get it up. Twenty-one points count a game. Hand- 
ball can be played by two or four. Where two play, it is 
called "singles," and where four play it is called "doubles/' 
In doubles the partners divide up the space so that one 
plays up short and returns all the balls that fall within the 
serving line, and the other player takes all the balls that 
go outside of the serving line. The game can be made a 
very fast one. A tennis ball stripped of the outside cloth 
makes a good ball to play with. 

ONE-O-CAT. 

One-o-Cat is the simplest form of baseball. It may be 
played by three — a catcher, batter and pitcher — but a fourth 
on the base is better, and a fifth as a fielder is better still, 
and there is no limit to additional fielders. One-o-Cat has 
one base; two-o-Cat, two bases, etc. 

The batter is allowed three strikes, at the end of which 
time, or when he bats the ball, he runs for the base and re- 
turns to the home base, if possible, before he is touched or 
hit with the ball. If there are enough players to have some- 
one on the base, the batter remains on the base while the 
next batter bats, when both are obliged to run for each 
other's bases. When a batter is touched out with the ball 
he becomes the last fielder. The catcher takes the bat, the 
pitcher takes the catcher's place, and the rest move up ac- 
cordingly. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



87 




Water Base Ball. 



WATER BASEBALL. 

The game of water baseball is one of the most inter- 
esting games imaginable, and the boys of few cities have 
as good opportunities to play it as those of Detroit, al- 
though as yet none have done so. 

The rules of the game are simple, the only require- 
ments being ability to swim well and to throw a ball. One 
large raft and four small ones about a yard square are 
needed, which are set out as in a baseball diamond, the 
large raft serving as home plate and the smaller ones as 
pitcher's box and the three bases. The diamond is, of 
course, much smaller than a baseball diamond, the distance 
between bases being about twelve yards. The ball used is 



88 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

a tennis ball, and the bat is short and light. Five boys play 
on each side, the catcher playing on the home raft and the 
others at the pitcher's and base rafts. Each man stands 
on his raft, the batter also being on the home raft. 

The batting rules are different from those in baseball 
in that there is no calling of strikes and balls; everything is 
fair, and one strike is out if caught. The "everything fair" 
rule makes it possible to turn and hit the ball directly to- 
ward the catcher. If you are the first to bat and hit the 
ball, say, toward third, splash! and you are off for first. As 
you rise to the surface after the dive you see the third base- 
man and the pitcher furiously swimming after the ball. 
Oh, how fearful you are of getting caught ! 

To your excited eyes it seems as if first base were a 
mile away. As you near the base you see the pitcher seize 
the ball and turn in the water to throw it. But it is no easy 
matter to throw a ball while treading water, and the 
chances are that the throw is a bad one and you are safe. 

You now turn your attention toward second. To steal 
it seems easy, and so, as soon as the pitcher delivers the 
ball, you start. But if all goes well with the other team, 
when you have gone about a third of the distance you no- 
tice that the second baseman has the ball. Giving up all 
hope of gaining second, you turn to regain first, and to 
your horror note that the first baseman has followed you 
and waits for the ball about five feet in your rear. 

Madly, now, you turn your efforts toward second, only 
to see the second baseman, who has also jumped into the 
water, rapidly swimming toward you. With sheer des- 
peration and much splashing you try to evade this latest 
comer, but you are put out and retired amid the excited 
yells of the onlookers. To the boys the game is full of fun. 
Sometimes an ardent first baseman will lean too far over 
to one side in his efforts to get the ball. This will cause 
the raft to tilt until the boy loses his balance, and in his 
efforts to regain the center of the raft it will shoot from 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 89 

under him and he will land smack on the surface of the 
water. This funny side, together with the real interest of 
the game, makes it one of the best summer sports for boys. 

CIRCLE BALL. 

This is one of the most popular of recreative games. 
A circle is formed and one of the players stands inside. 
The players throw a light "medicine ball" or basket ball 
from one to another. The one in the center tries to inter- 
cept the ball, or make one of the players drop it. If a 
player muffs the ball, he becomes "it/' or if the player in 
the center blocks a throw, or catches a ball, the thrower 
becomes "it." 

BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. 

A line is marked off in a clearing, and on either side of 
it stands a player from each team who has been chosen 
champion. These two play battledore and shuttlecock back 
and forth across the line until one player fails to hit the 
shuttlecock. The one who has missed yields his battledore 
to another player of the same side and becomes his oppo- 
nent's prisoner. The game goes on until all of one team 
have been taken prisoners, or, if this makes it last too long, 
it may end at any time, and the team having the greatest 
number of prisoners has won. 

"BUZ." 

The players sit in a circle and count in turn, "one," 
"two/' "three," until if possible one hundred is reached. 
There are ways and ways of counting, however, some of 
them not so easy after all. The number seven must always 
in this particular game be replaced by "Buz," as must any 
of its multiples, as fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-eight, etc. 
Rules of the game are these: 

Rule i. "Buz" to be said for every seven or seven 
times that number. 



90 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Rule 2. Anyone breaking this rule pays a forfeit and 
is out of the game; i. e., sits silent. 

Rule 3. As soon as seven or a "seven times" number 
has been said, the counter must begin at one, by the player 
sitting at the left of the expelled member. 

Rule 4. If any player forgets his number while the 
count is going on, or miscounts after a "Buz," he pays a 
forfeit, but is not out of the game. 

It will be found that "Buz" will be so often forgotten 
in its right place, or the number of players will so soon 
diminish from miscount, that to reach one hundred will 
not be easy, as every time a blunder is made the count goes 
back to one as a fresh beginning. This game proves a very 
jolly and amusing one. 

An amplification of this game has been called "Buz 
Fizz." In addition to the requirements of number seven, 
whenever the number three or any of its multiples, or any 
figure in which it occurs, appears, the word "quack" must 
be given instead. All the 30' s begin with "quack." At ev- 
ery return of the number five or its multiples, the word 
"fizz" is used; all the 50' s begin with "fizz." For eleven 
and its multiples, the player says "cock-a-doodle-doo!" 
Thus, "1, 2, quack, 4 fizz, quack, buz, 8 quack, fizz, cock-a- 
doodle-doo, quack, quack, buz," etc. Fifteen is "quack 
fizz," three times five being fifteen. 

As a player fails, he retires from the game, and the rest 
begin with one again. The victor must have quick wits and 
much concentration — and deserves a prize. 

CAPPING VERSES. 

One person writes a line of poetry and, folding down 
the paper to conceal the writing, passes it to his neighbor, 
at the same time giving the last word of his line. No. 3 
writes a fresh line, which is rhymed by the next player, and 
so on, until all have made a contribution. 

The lines may be original poetry(?) or quotations, but 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements •! 

the result is naturally more pleasing if all agree beforehand 
to follow the meter of some familiar poem. 

If preferred, each writer may start a fresh sheet and 
pass it on as before described, which, keeping all busy at 
once, makes the game more lively. Still another way to 
play the game is for someone to quote a line of poetry, when 
the person next must promptly repeat another line begin- 
ning with the letter which concluded the last word of the 
previous line. It is continued from one to another until 
some one fails to respond, when he must drop from the 
game, which is continued until one alone has outdone all 
competitors. 

For such impromptu quotations it would be too much to 
insist upon the meter being alike, which removes the chief 
difficulty. For example: 

"Come, gentle spring, ethereal mildness come." 
"England, with all thy faults I love thee still." 
"Love not, love not, ye hapless sons of earth." 
"He jests at scars who never felt a wound." 
"Drink to me with thine eyes," etc. 

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS. 

A sheet on which is painted a full-size fireplace is hung 
on one side of the room. Every child having been provided 
with a tiny stocking with a pin at the top, each in turn is 
blindfolded and told to go to the fireplace and pin his stock- 
ing to the mantel. If he succeeds, a tiny toy is slipped into 
the stocking before the handkerchief is removed from his 
eyes. But if the stocking is out of place, it is left. empty. 

CHEAT. 

The game is played with two packs of cards, and any 
number of persons may take part in it. The cards being 
dealt, the player at the left of the dealer lays a card in the 
center of the table, face down, but naming the suit and 



92 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

value of the card. The next person then places a card on 
top of it, saying that it is the next in order — though truth 
is not insisted upon. It may be, and it may not be, what he 
represents it. If anyone doubts it, he may challenge it, say- 
ing, "I doubt it!" The card is then shown, and if it prove 
not to be the one declared, the player is obliged to take all 
the cards that are on the table, and the object is to get rid 
of one's cards. 

If, however, the card prove to be the one the player 
represents it, the doubter must take all the cards on the 
table. 

Sometimes the bad morals of the game so infect a 
player that he tries to put down two cards at once, when, 
if he is discovered, he is obliged to take every card on the 
table into his own hands. 

The one who first gets rid of all his cards beats the 
game. The cards should be played rapidly. 

CLAP IN, CLAP OUT. 

"Clap In, Clap Out," is another old favorite game with 
the children, so all the grown-ups join in it. As many 
chairs as there are persons are placed in a circle. All the 
girls and women leave the room and the boys and men 
place themselves each behind a chair. One boy chooses a 
girl to sit in his chair. She is called in, clapped loudly and 
told to choose a chair. If she chooses the right one, its 
owner may claim a kiss ; if not, all loudly clap her out of the 
room and another girl is named. 

COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS. 

This is a game that may be played without any prep- 
aration whatever, as no materials are required, not even 
pencil and paper. It is, therefore, well worth knowing, for 
it may be suggested to a party of friends on the spur of the 
moment, when some such amusement is desired. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



93 



The players choose a leader, and then seat themselves 
in a circle, with the leader in the center. He, of course, 
stands. As the game may be better understood from an 
illustration, we will suppose the leader to begin it by say- 
ing: 

"Young people, you are all supposed to be commercial 
travelers, about to start on a journey to any part of the 
world that you may prefer, on business. I will ask each of 
you, if you please, to tell me where you are going and what 
you intend to do when you get there." 

It is required that every answer to his questions should 
be alliterative ; that is to say, that all the words of the an- 
swer should begin with the same letter; and the first an- 
swer should begin with the letter A. Thus it runs : 

Leader — "Where are you going?" Answer — "To 
Annapolis." 

Leader — "What will you do there?" Answer — "At- 
tend academy." 

B goes to Boston to buy baked beans. C to Chi- 
cago to collect Columbian coins. D to Damascus to do 
Dervish dances. E to England to earn Edward's esteem, 
etc. 

CONTRADICTORY PROVERBS. 

The first player gives a well-known proverb, to which 
the next must present the opposite. As illustration: "Out 
of sight, out of mind," quickly offset by the equally familiar 
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." A brief list of 
these seemingly contradictory proverbs might be written 
upon folded cards and one given to each player, who must 
write on the opposite page the proverb that contradicts 
the one given; as, for instance, "A stitch in time saves 
nine," "A tear is the accident of a day. but a darn is pre- 
meditated poverty." 

"A rolling stone gathers no moss." "If at first you 
don't succeed, try, try, again." 



94: Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

"Marry in haste and repent at leisure. " "Happy the 
wooing that's not long a-doing." 

"Fine feathers make fine birds." "Handsome is that 
handsome does." 

CUPID'S TARGET. 

Cupid's darts are shot from a small bow by each child 
in turn at a heart-shaped target of white with a smaller red 
heart for a bull's-eye. The one whose dart comes nearest 
the middle of the bull's-eye may receive a gaily beribboned 
bow and arrow for a prize. 

DUCK ON A ROCK. 

If debating on a game to play, and "duck on a rock" 
is suggested, you. must be quick to pick up a rock, at the 
same time crying, "My duck," for the last to speak gets no 
duck and has to guard the drake. The drake is a good- 
sized stone which is placed on an elevated position or on 
a boulder. The ducks are stones about the size of one's 
fist. A line is drawn eight or ten yards from the rock. 
From this the boys throw, the object being to knock the 
drake off the rock. Beyond this line also is home, where 
the players are safe from the keeper. The players throw in 
turn. The keeper stands by the rock, but cannot tag a 
player until the latter has touched his own duck. In which 
case the one touched becomes keeper. If the drake is 
knocked off the rock, the keeper must replace it before he 
can tag a player. This is, therefore, the signal for a rush 
to recover the thrown ducks. If all the stones fail to dis- 
lodge the drake, their owners cannot touch them. They 
are "forfeit" to the keeper, and must make terms with him 
to recover their stones. One may be allowed to "jump" 
home, which means, to hold the stone between the feet and, 
so loaded, hop home. Another may be allowed the privi- 
lege of "kicking." The stone is worked onto the foot and 
kicked homeward. Or "heeling" may be accorded, upon 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 95 

demand. This consists of a backward kick of the stone 
towards home, effected with the heel. In trying these vari- 
ous feats, the first one who fails to get his stone home must 
become keeper. While the test is going on, no other player 
must go home. 

DUMB CRAMBO. 

. The players are divided into two parties, one of which 
leaves the room, while the others decide upon a word to 
be guessed by those without. Upon their return they 
are furnished with a clew by a word's being told them that 
rhyme's with the word which they must guess. They then 
return for consultation, and upon their reappearance pro- 
ceed to represent in pantomime what they fancy the word 
to be. 

Properties necessary for dressing in character may be 
supplied, which adds much to the fun.. 

For example : One of the audience tells the actors that 
they have thought of a word that rhymes with "tin." After 
a short preparation, the actors enter en masse, making as 
noisy a racket as they can devise. The audience promptly 
assures them that it is not "din" in pity for their own ears. 
They then retire for conference and reappear. One creeps 
stealthily after another and goes through the motions of 
picking a pocket, two seem to be quarreling, others openly 
righting, while one craftily drops upon the ground a bit of 
orange peel which promptly causes the others to fall with 
great apparent injury. The audience finally decide that 
sin is what they are trying to describe, and deny that 
choice. The audience withdraw and return with broad 
smiles upon their faces, but again are assured of failure, the 
word not being "grin." At their next appearance they seem 
to be swimming, holding their arms very close to their sides 
and flapping about as fishes do their fins, while opening and 
shutting their mouths as one observes fishes do in an aqua- 
rium. Condemned to still another trial, they enter the 



96 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

room staggering about and imitating the motions of ex- 
treme intoxication, while periodically drinking from closed 
hands. It is not difficult for the audience to recognize the 
word of their selection, and acknowledge that "gin" is the 
correct answer. Whereupon the audience and actors 
change places. 

EGG RACE. 

On either side of the room six large hard boiled colored 
eggs are placed in a line at intervals of about a foot. At the 
far end of each line is a large open basket or a coarsely wo- 
ven nest. Two leaders are chosen, who in turn choose 
sides. A player from each side is given a large wooden 
spoon and stands at the near end of his line. At a signal 
each starts to spoon up the eggs one at a time, carrying 
them to the nest. A list of the winners on each side is kept, 
and at the end of the game the side which has the greater 
number is the winner. Small individual prizes may be 
given to all the players on the victorious side. For exam- 
ple, tiny nests filled w r ith egg bonbons. 

ELECTRICAL FISHING. 

Whittle a little rod anywhere from ten to twenty inches 
long, paring it down so that it tapers gradually from the 
thickness of a lead pencil at the butt to a graceful point. 

Attach a bit of sewing silk a few inches long. To the 
end of this tie a tiny hook. 

Now heat some sealing wax over the flame of a candle, 
fashion it into the shape of a worm and work it over the 
hook so as to cover it just as a fisherman would cover a 
hook. 

All you need now is the fish, and you will be ready to 
catch a mess. The fish can be produced in a moment by 
snipping a piece of thin paper into shape with sharp scis- 
sors. Tissue paper is best, and if you can get colored paper 
of different colors, so much the better. Cut out fish about 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 9 ? 

an inch long and scatter them over the table which repre- 
sents your fish pond. 

Now, with a silk or woolen rag, rub the sealing wax 
bait briskly. Then lower it toward any fish you wish to 
catch, and it will bob up and hang onto the hook. 

You know why, don't you? The friction has produced 
electricity in the sealing wax. 

FLOWER SPIDER WEB. 

In a nest are several small packages of flower seeds, 
and to each package is attached a cord of a different color. 
Each person is invited to choose a cord and follow where 
it will lead — for at the other end will be found the flower 
to which the seeds belong. The cords, of course, are car- 
ried in as intricate a manner as possible, under furniture 
and rugs, around table legs, in and out through the banis- 
ters, up stairs and down, until finally each child will find a 
potted plant with paper frills or a bunch of the flowers ap- 
propriate to the seed. The blue cord led to forget-me-nots, 
the white to the stock gillies, the red to carnations, yellow 
to daffodils, the green to mignonette, the lilac to violets, 
purple to pansies, and the pink to primroses. 

FORTUNE HUNTING. 

A little scheme for a Hallowe'en frolic, in which the un- 
canny but ever fascinating witch plays the leading role, 
may be worked out as follows : 

From a sheet of black paper cut a large figure of a 
witch, with a cat just in front of her, mounted on a broom- 
stick. Have this figure pinned to the center of a sheet, 
which is to hang at one end of the room. Have written on 
slips of paper (as many as there are guests) some clever 
fortunes, in rhyme, and place them in small envelopes. Pin 
these promiscuously over the sheet, placing those prom- 
ising the brightest future nearest the witch. When all is 



98 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

ready, let each guest in turn be blindfolded, turned about 
several times, and allowed to seek and find his fortune by 
touching the sheet with the end of a small broomstick. The 
envelope nearest the point he touches will be his. 

Do not remove the envelopes until everybody has fin- 
ished, but pin each one's name (written on a slip of paper) 
to the spot where he touches the sheet, to keep tally. The 
fortunes may be made more desirable as souvenirs by dec- 
orating the papers with small silhouettes of witches, black 
cats, etc. If prizes are given, let the one who secures the 
fortune which is placed in the witch's outstretched hand 
receive an appropriate volume, such as "The Fortunes of 
Oliver Horn" or "The Queen of the Air." 

GAMES OF MESMERISM. 

Everybody, big and little, enjoys an exhibition of mes- 
meric power, and surprisingly few people know the "trick." 

Game I. — After an elaborate speech describing your 
unusual power of mesmerism, ask your assembled friends 
for the privilege of trying your powers on them. 

Tell then to select a certain playing card out of a pack, 
hide it, and then call you in. 

Ask them all to be thinking about it while you go 
around the circle, pressing your hands on each one's tem- 
ples and brows in turn. Unknown to them, there must be 
one of the company who is your confederate. By a prear- 
ranged system, he will signal to you thus : By pressing his 
back teeth tightly together and then relaxing them he can 
cause the muscle of his temples to contract so that you can 
plainly feel it under the pressure of your fingers. Let one 
contraction indicate hearts, two diamonds, three spades, 
and four clubs. Then a pause. Then one, two or three, etc., 
to correspond with the number of spots on the card. Or 
if it is a picture card, four quick contractions for the king, 
three for the queen, and two for the knave. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 99 

Game 2. — This comes near to being mesmerism. No 
one can explain how it works, but in ninety-nine cases out 
of a hundred it does work. 

Choose five cards out of a pack, select one in your 
mind, then spread all five of them out fan fashion, faces 
down, and, grasping some one's right hand in your own, 
tell him to close his eyes and command him to draw the 
particular card you have in mind. Somehow or other he 
will almost invariably pick out the very card you command- 
ed him to draw. 

Game 3. — Someone announces that he has special mes- 
meric powers, and asks for subjects upon whom to work his 
powers. 

Someone offers himself. The two retire a little to one 
side, and two saucers are handed the mesmerist, who then 
passes one to the subject. 

"Now," says the mesmerist, "say and do exactly what 
I say and do, using as nearly as possible the same tones of 
voice and the same motions as I use. Ready? Now say 
after me: 

"I touch my saucer's underside, 
And then I let my finger glide 
Across my forehead, down my nose, 
Touch my chin and cheeks of rose, 
And after I have done thus much 
My saucer's inside then I touch." 

Immediately present a mirror before his face, and there 
he will see the explanation of sundry giggles that he has 
heard, for his forehead and nose and chin and cheeks will 
be streaked with black. The underside of his saucer was 
smeared with lampblack. 

Of course, only people who have never chanced to be- 
come acquainted with this "sell" will offer themselves as 
subjects for the mesmerist to work on. 

LOFC 



100 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 

Each child is given a paper and pencil and requested 
to write at the top of the page the word "Resolved," fol- 
lowed by expressions of amendment that he or she is con- 
scious of needing. One such attempt at self examination 
resulted in the following resolves: 

"I will be as honest as the times will permit/' 

"I will be good to all, but gooder to myself." 

"I will tell no more lies." 

"My best self shall rule." 

"I will try to love everybody." 

These are read aloud and the authorship guessed. All 
the correct guesses at the authorship are counted, for the 
prize of a china mug with "For a Good Girl" or "For a Good 
Boy" in letters upon it. 

HARE AND HOUNDS. 

In playing this game one boy (or in a long course two), 
represents the Hare, and the rest the Hounds. The hares 
carry with them bags full of paper torn up very small, which 
they scatter behind them as they run, to represent scent, and 
by this the hounds trace them up and endeavor to capture 
them. The hares, of course, endeavor to mislead them by 
all sorts of doublings and twistings, or by going over dif- 
ficult country. 

The hares are debarred, by the rules of the game, from 
employing all such artifices as making one or more false 
starts at any part of the run and from returning on or 
crossing their previous track. Should they break either of 
these rules, or should the "scent" give out, they are consid- 
ered as caught and lose the game accordingly. They must, 
of course, always scatter a sufficient amount of scent to be 
plainly visible to the hounds. If there are two hares, they 
must not be separate under any circumstances; for all the 
purposes of the game they are to be considered as only one 
individual. 




Hare and Hounds. 



102 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

The hounds will find a little organization and discipline 
a wonderful assistance to them in baffling the tricks of the 
hare. A captain and whipper-in should be chosen, the for- 
mer to lead and direct, and the latter to bring up the rear. 
As long as the scent is strong, the whole band will go some- 
what in Indian file, merely following their captain ; but when 
he is at fault he must sound the horn, which he carries, and 
call a halt. The whipper-in thereupon takes his post at the 
point where the scent is broken, and the others sweep round 
in a great circle, covering every inch of ground, to discover 
the lost trail. Sometimes the captain and whipper-in carry 
white and red flags, and use them to mark the point where 
the scent is broken. 

The hares should not be the swiftest runners, or they 
would never be caught. Endurance, pluck and a readiness 
of invention are the great points in chase. The more he 
trusts to his head and the less to his legs, the better the 
chase. The hares are generally allowed not less than five 
or more than ten minutes' start, according to circum- 
stances. They should take care to survey their ground be- 
fore they go over it, or they may get themselves into all 
sorts of difficulties. A pocket compass will be found an in- 
valuable companion both to hares and hounds. From 
twelve to fourteen miles is a good run; but some little train- 
ing and practice are requisite before such a long course can 
be covered. 

. At first considerable difficulty will be experienced in 
keeping up even a moderate pace; but after a time the pace 
will come of itself; that is, with practice, and a little care in 
the article of food — avoidance, for example, of too much in- 
dulgence in pastries. 

Pace is one of the first requisites for a good run, but it 
should not be carried to extremes; a good swinging trot of 
from five to six miles an hour over good ground, and some- 
thing less on bad, is quite enough to try the endurance of 
the best runners. Above all, too much pace should not be 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 103 

put on at first; if there is any to spare at the finish put it 
on by all means, but for the first mile or so steady going 
should be the order of the day. 

If, at the end of the day's sport a boy feels himself 
feverish, knocked out, and unable to eat, he may be sure he 
is getting harm rather than good, laying up for himself 
sickness rather than health by his exercise. Either the pace 
has been too much for him, or he is not in proper condition. 
In the former case he must restrain his ardor for a time at 
least, and be content to take a little longer time over the 
work; if the latter, in most cases it will be from over-indul- 
gence in food and he must make up his mind either to be a 
little more temperate, or a little less athletic. 

Many boys are under the impression that light boots 
are the best for the long runs ; but this is a great mistake ; 
the feet get terribly beaten on hard soil, and in mud or 
over ploughed fields light boots are almost worse than none 
at all. A pair of good, solid, broad-soled lace boots, with 
thick worsted socks, are the only wear for the feet. Short 
six-inch gaiters — unless knickerbockers, which are distinct- 
ly preferable to trousers, be worn — will be found, a great 
protection, and will serve to limit the flapping ends of the 
trousers, and make them play a little looser at the knees, 
a matter of vast importance in a long distance run. One 
more word of advice. Let no sense of fatigue, however 
great, prevent your changing boots and socks at least, di- 
rectly you get home. You will find it well worth the extra 
exertion. 

HOT COCKLES. 

A player, kneeling down, conceals his face in the lap of 
another, but on his back places one hand, the palm turned 
outward. Each person then advances in turn and admin- 
isters a slap on the open hand, the person kneeling mean- 
while trying to guess, without looking, to whom he owes his 
punishment. If he guesses correctly, the one whom he has 
detected must take his place. 



104 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

HUMAN BURDEN RACE. 

This is a most amusing variation of the old-fashioned 
potato race. The players are divided into two equal squads, 
and stand facing each other on parallel lines about thirty 
feet apart. A player from each squad goes to the opposite 
line, and at the signal "Go" runs across the space, picks up 
a member of her team, carries her back to the line, and then 
returns for another girl. The player first carrying all of 
her squad across the space wins the game. 

JAPANESE FAN GAME. 

Provide yourselves with ordinary inexpensive Japanese 
fans and Japanese paper globes of various colors. These 
globes are six or seven inches in diameter. They come 
folded flat, but all the players have to do is to unfold them 
and inflate them through the tiny hole which will be found 
in one end. 

Have a goal — make it of two poles six feet apart, with 
a top crosspiece — at each end of your field. The field should 
be about the size of a tennis court. Have a smaller goal 
also in the center of the field. 

Choose two captains and let them choose up their sides, 
the same number on each side. One from each side — two 
in all — play at a time, each standing in front of his own 
goal, and at a signal from the umpire advancing toward the 
center, fan in hand. 

At the next signal the two captains toss their balls high 
in the air. It is "up to" the two players now to keep the 
balls from touching the ground and to guide them toward 
the opponent's goal, causing them to pass meanwhile either 
over or under the middle goal. The only means either $ne 
can employ is his fan. 

Supposing either ball falls to the ground, the player is 
privileged to lift it up on his fan without touching it with 
his fingers, and to resume the play, provided his opponent 
has not yet reached his desired goal. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 105 

The winner scores a point for his side. Then two more 
— one from each side — play against each other, and so until 
every member of each side has had a chance to play. Last 
of all the two captains may play, if they wish to. 

The winning team should be presented with prizes. 
Pretty fans would be appropriate. 

Both fans and balls can be purchased at any Japanese 
shop. 

This game is not merely very pretty to look at, but 
far less violent exercise than tennis. Everybody will en- 
joy it. 

In Japan the fans are often omitted and the breath 
alone relied upon to blow the ball goalward. You might 
try it. 

JUMP THE ROPE. 

The players clasp hands in a circle. One of them 
stands in the centre and swings a rope, to the end of which 
is attached a small weight. Each player must jump over 
the rope as it approaches. When a player misjudges and 
is struck by the rope he drops out of the circle. The one in 
the centre makes the jumping faster and harder by increas- 
ing the speed of the rope and by raising it higher. The 
game is laughable and gives a lot of recreation. 

KEEPING THE "THREAD" OF A STORY. 

Each player holds the end of a ribbon or string in her 
hand, the other end of all the ribbons or strings being held 
by the leader, who begins to tell a story. Every one must 
pay close attention, for at any moment she may break off, 
at the same time pulling one of the ribbons. The holder 
of it without delay must take up the story and continue it 
until the leader pulls another ribbon, which transfers the 
task to some one else. 




Kites — How to Make Them. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 107 

KITES. 

Not very many years ago the young artist in kites 
seldom ventured beyond a few simple forms, indeed, was 
mostly limited to one, as the only one recognized as the 
real thing; but nowadays he has a greatly enlarged choice, 
and may find in the toy-shops an endless variety of forms 
more or less eccentric in their design from which to select. 
If he be of an inventive turn of mind, and cannot otherwise 
please himself, he may construct a kite on a pattern of his 
own. 

The old theory used to be that a deviation from ac- 
curate proportions in a kite must certainly prove fatal to 
its powers of flight; but of late years, amongst other re- 
sults of opening our communications with China, we have 
discovered that so long as certain rules of symmetry are 
observed, that is, so long as one side fairly balances the 
other, there is almost no conceivable shape that may not 
be made to mount up into the sky. 

Here and in Europe kite-flying is only an amusement 
for the young, but in China it is a popular recreation of all 
ages; not below the dignity even of gray hair. On a suit- 
able evening in some parts of China the whole sky will be 
populated with kites of strange and wondrous aspect — 
mandarins, men and women, singly and in pairs, wild 
beasts, birds, serpents, dragons, fish in endless variety and 
profusion. To the Chinaman bent on constructing a kite, 
nothing animate or inanimate comes amiss; let the shape 
be as eccentric as you please, he will not only make a kite 
of it, but will make one that will fly. 

How to Make a Kite. — To make a kite of the ordinary 
pattern, the following requisites must be prepared: A long 
straight lath, a cane, and a plentiful supply of string, paper 
and paste. The lath is for the upright (as b, d, in Fig. i). 
The cane, which should be about three-fourths the length of 
the lath, must be securely fastened by its exact middle to 
the upper end of the lath, as at e, and brought down to a 



108 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

bow by the cord at c. This cord should be passed with a 
double turn round the upright at f to keep it from slipping, 
and care must be taken to balance the two sides of the kite 
most accurately; a very slight preponderance of weight on 
one side over the other will make the kite lop-sided, and 
will greatly interfere with its flight. 

Now carry a string, as in the figure, from e to c, thence 
to g, to a, and back to e, fastening it securely at each point. 
Your skeleton is now complete. 

Next for the paper. Paste sheets of paper together 
until you have one large enough to cover the whole frame- 
work, with a margin of at least two inches to lap over. Lay 
your skeleton upon this, cut away the superfluous paper 
all around, and then lap the margin over the edges, and 
paste it firmly down. Having firmly secured this, cut some 
slips of paper about three inches wide and paste them along 
and over the cross string so as to secure them firmly to the 
main sheet, and treat the upright in the same manner, 
though, of course, with a wider strip. The body of your 
kite is now complete. 

For the wings or tassels take two strips of paper, of a 
length and width proportioned to the size of the tassel re- 
quired, snip these across like a comb, roll them up, and bind 
the uncut ends tightly with a string. The tassel for the end 
of the tail may be constructed in a similar manner. 

The ordinary method of constructing the tail is by fast- 
ening slips of paper at six inches or so interval along a 
piece of string. These pieces of paper, though intended 
for ornament, hardly fulfill their office, but remind one 
rather of curl-paper than of anything else, and are contin- 
ually becoming tangled. A good long piece of string with 
a tassel at the end answers all the purposes, and is far more 
graceful. If this be thought insufficient, a little colored tis- 
sue paper rolled up fine, and twined spirally along the string 
of the tail, will set it off wonderfully. The tail should be 
fifteen or twenty times the length of the kite. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 109 

In selecting the string for the kite, the two main points 
to take into consideration are lightness and strength. If 
the string be too heavy, the kite will not be able to soar 
very high, on account of the dead weight of the string; if 
it be too light, the pull of the kite and its own weight to- 
gether will be too much for it. 

The string should not be fastened directly to the 
framework of the kite, but to a piece of string termed the 
belly-band, which is a piece of string fastened to the upright 
by both ends, and hanging down in a loop about a foot or 
eighteen inches in depth. 

The points of attachment to this belly-band should be, 
one a little below the middle of the upright, and the other 
about two-thirds up of the remaining length. Or, to be 
more precise, in a four-foot kite the lower point would be 
about twenty inches from the bottom, and the other about 
ten inches from the top. The string is firmly attached to 
the belly-band; as the exact point of affixture can only be 
ascertained by experiment, it depends entirely upon the bal- 
ance of the kite. 

Another and very useful sort of kite (See Figs. 2 and 3) 
may be made with calico set upon a frame, all of whose 
pieces work upon a single pivot. By this arrangement the 
whole kite may be folded together and put into a case like 
an umbrella. 

The calico is only fastened permanently to the two long 
pieces, and simply tied to the cross-piece; this being re- 
leased, the three laths may be worked round on a pivot until 
they are in a straight line, and this calico wrapped around 
them. The great advantage of this construction is that 
not only are they easier to carry but they are less liable to 
injury. 

Sometimes they are made with only two pieces, an up- 
right and a cross-piece, but the principle is the same. 

If expense be no consideration, oiled silk, or that thin 
gutta percha which is now used as its substitute, may be 



110 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

employed with advantage, and will be found, on account of 
their superior lightness, infinitely preferable to paper or 
calico. 

For decorations the young artist must follow his own 
fancy, only he must remember that, as the effect is to be 
produced from a distance, only the most staring and bril- 
liant colors can be employed, and that fine and finished de- 
tails will be of no use whatever. 

One of the prettiest kites now in use is that which rep- 
resents the hawk with outspread wings. If this kite is 
properly made, it sweeps backwards and forwards with a 
movement exactly like that of the bird whose name it bears. 
If the tail is made of fine but strong string, and the weight 
at its end is cut in the shape of a small bird, the kite enacts 
in a marvelously faithful manner the maneuvers of a falcon 
attacking its prey. 

Take a parachute kite. You can make the parachutes 
of tissue paper — any colors — cut into square pieces to 
which small cardboard figures may be fastened. Take a 
small twist in the top of each parachute and to each twist 
fasten a thread. To the other end of each thread fasten a 
pin bent at right angles. 

Now take your kite string and make a sufficient num- 
ber of loops in it, six feet apart from each other, for all of 
your parachutes to be suspended, each to one loop. 

When you fly your kite (or parachutes, rather) shake 
the string energetically and the parachutes will spread out. 

Now a man-kite. Suppose you construct a Chinaman 
kite. Take sticks half an inch square and various lengths 
— four of them 62 inches long, one 28 and one 15 inches 
long. Bend them and fasten them into position as indicated 
in the diagram, using stout string for the purpose. 

Then cover the framework with paper and on top of 
this paste rather loosely large sheets of tissue paper, va- 
riously colored — blue for the upper body and sleeves and 
red for the legs. Cut the head out of cardboard 14 inches 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements m 

or so high. Paint the features of the face in black paint. 
Fasten the head to the "spinal column/' With tacks make 
the feet of cardboard and the queue or "pig-tail" of strips 
of black cotton cloth braided. Make the flags of yellow tis- 
sue paper. 

Attach a small quantity of ballast in the form of peb- 
bles as shown in the picture. Have just enough ballast to 
balance the figure properly. 

Flying the Kite. — To start the kite in the first instance, 
it is mostly necessary to have some aid; two persons are 
required, one to hold the kite up and help it off, while the 
other, holding the string, runs a little way against the wind 
to increase its pressure upon the kite, and this helps it to get 
its tail fairly off the ground, after which, if there is sufficient 
breeze, the kite will do very well. 

The kite, once up in the air, may be allowed to soar 
upwards as far as the string or its own capabilities will per- 
mit; if the string be unlimited, the height to which the kite 
can ascend will only be measured by its power of supporting 
the requisite length of string. 

Sometimes when great altitude is aimed at, when one 
kite has taken all the string it can well carry, the lower end 
of the string is attached to another kite, which then takes 
up a fresh length, and enables its precursor to mount higher. 

This plan is only worth practicing with really large 
kites, and in managing these care is necessary (a six-foot 
kite, for instance, pulls lake a cart-horse), and serious ac- 
cidents have been known to happen through the string get- 
ting entangled, and the owner of the kite being run away 
with by his unmanageable plaything. 

Where the kite is very large, it is advisable to give the 
string a turn or two around a post or tree ; this will enable its 
owner to control it at will. 

A piece of paper with a hole in it, slipped on the lower 
end of the string, will soon by the force of the wind be car- 
ried up to the kite itself, however high it may be. 



112 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

KNIGHTS. 

Two sturdy boys take each a smaller boy on their 
backs and engage in a mock tournament, themselves act- 
ing as horses, while the youngsters grapple and strive to 
unseat each other. 

The real brunt of the righting falls on the horses, upon 
whose strength and dexterity, much more than upon that 
of their respective "knights," depends the ultimate issue 
of the combat. The horses may shove and jostle one an- 
other, but must not kick, trip, or use their hands or elbows. 

The victor is he who gains most falls in three rounds. 
The game should only be played upon turf, for safety's 
sake; for sometimes, when horse and man go down to- 
gether, the fall might prove a nasty one on hard ground, 
and at any time the rider is liable to be brought off back- 
wards with a jerk, under which circumstances he will be 
thankful to measure his length on the soft turf, instead of 
lumpy gravel or unyielding pavement. 

MATCHING EGGS. 

Hitting their ends together to see which is hardest. 
The one who succeeds in cracking the eggs of his opponents 
being the winner. 

MUMBLETY-PEG. 

In this game a knife is cast into the earth, on a piece 
of turf, with the point downwards, and must remain stick- 
ing there; at least two fingers above the ground. There 
are several successive positions of throwing, as follows: 
(i) The knife is held on the palm, first of the right and 
afterwards of the left hand, point downward, and thrown so 
as to revolve towards the player; (2) it is rested succes- 
sively on the right and left fist, with the point uppermost, 
and thrown sideways; (3) the knife is pressed with the point 
resting on each finger and thumb of both hands in succes- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 113 

sion, and cast outwards; (4) after this it is held by the point 
and flipped from the breast, nose, cheeks, eyes and fore- 
head; (5) from each ear, crossing arms, and taking hold of 
the opposite ear with the free hand; (6) over the head back- 
wards. If the knife does not "stick/' the next player takes 
his turn; the first to conclude the series wins. The winner 
is allowed to drive a peg into the ground with three blows 
of the knife with his eyes shut and then with them open, 
which the other must extract with his teeth, whence the 
name "mumblety-peg." Another way is for each player to 
play until he misses and then to start when it comes his 
turn again on the one he missed on, and the loser "pulls 
the peg." 

NAMES OF CITIES. 

The children are given names of different cities or 
towns in the United States, except one, who is placed in 
the center of the ring blind-folded. Then some one who has 
the list of the names calls off — for instance — Baltimore and 
Chicago, and the children who have those names change 
places, while the one blind-folded tries to hear what corner 
the noise is coming from and feels his way to find one off 
the chairs, and if he is quick enough to get it the blind-fold 
is taken off him and put on the one who missed his chair. 
This game is the cause of great excitement and fun, if there 
is a crowd, and sometimes the person in charge tells them 
all to change, then the one blind-folded is almost sure to 
find his way to a seat. 

NUMBERS. 

What Two Numbers Multiplied Together Will Produce 

Seven? 

Make as many copies of the following arithmetical 
questions as there are players, leaving space under each 
for the answer to be written. Give a copy to each player, 
together with a pencil and an extra sheet of paper to "fig- 



114 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



lire" on, and offer a prize or several prizes, for the best 
answers submitted within a certain time limit: — 

i. What two numbers multiplied together will pro- 
duce seven? 

2. How may four fives be placed so as to make six 
and a half? 

3. If five times four are thirty-three, what will the 
fourth of twenty be? 

4. What is the difference between twice twenty-five 
and twice five and twenty? 

5. Divide the number fifty into two such parts that 




The Game of Numbers. 



if the greater part be divided by seven and the less by three 
the quotient in each case will be the same. 

6. If you have a piece of cloth containing fifty yards 
and wish to cut it into fifty one-yard pieces, how many 
days will it take you to do it if you cut one yard a day? 

These questions, as you see, are not very hard, but 
two or three of them may catch the unwary. Here are the 
answers: — 

1. The two numbers are seven and one. 

2. The figure 5, the fraction five-fifths and the deci- 
mal fraction five-tenths. 

3. Eight and one-fourth. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements I 1 5 

4. Twice twenty-five are fifty; twice five and twenty 
are thirty. 

5. The two parts are 35 and 15. 

6. Forty-nine days — not fifty days. 

OUR FLAG. 

Cards are provided beforehand upon which are drawn 
and colored large American flags, lacking only the stars. 
These, the hostess announces, are to be stuck on by the 
children. Each child receives forty-five stars, and in a 
given time, say five minutes, sticks as many as he can on the 
blue field of his flag. A bell is rung, the children count 
their stars, and the one who has the most on his flag is the 
winner and receives a prize. 

PARCELS POST. 

There are two leaders chosen, who in turn choose sides 
for parcels post. The children form lines facing each other, 
a leader at one end of each line. Beside him in a large 
basket are parcels large and small, heavy and light, and 
many that are irregular in shape, all wrapped and tied up. 
There should be an equal number of parcels for each side. 
At a signal each leader takes a parcel from the basket, 
passes it to the player next him, and one after another as 
quickly as possible they are taken from the basket and 
passed along the line. If anything is dropped it must travel 
all the way back to the leader and start again. The player 
next to the chair must pile the parcels on it as they come to 
him, without letting one fall, and when they have all 
reached him he starts them back to the leader, one at a 
time, as fast as he can. The side which gets the parcels 
back in its basket first has won. 

PENNY PUZZLE. 

Give to each player a card with pencil attached by a 
ribbon, and on the end of another ribbon a penny with a 



116 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

hole in it. Write at the top of each card, "A penny for your 
thoughts," and below the following questions. A time limit 
is set and the one having the greatest number of correct 
answers may receive a prize. 

Questions. * Answers. 

i. — The symbol of eternity? — Circle. 

2. — What goes before a regiment? — Band. 

3. — A messenger? — One cent (sent). 

4. — An Indian headdress? — Feathers. 

5. — What should a soldier present to his foes? — Face. 

6. — A gallant? — Beau (bow). 

7. — A scion of one of the first families ? — An Indian. 

8. — Emblem of victory? — Wreath. 

9. — Writings from the absent? — Letters. 
10. — What does a prisoner pine for? — Liberty. 
11. — What number and kind of buildings are included? — 

Ten mills. 
12. — Two sides of a vote? — Ayes and noes (eyes and nose). 
13. — A piece of armor? — Shield. 
14. — A beverage? — Tea (T). 
15. — A watchword? — Liberty. 
16. — What should a rogue possess? — Cheek. 
17. — One way of expressing matrimony? — United States. 
18. — A place of worship? — Temple. 
19. — What our forefathers fought for? — Liberty. 
20. — Part of a hill? — Brow. 
21.— What part of Boston?— O, N and T. 
22. — What silver coin? — Crown. 
23. — What part of wheat? — The ear. 
24. — What represents youth and childhood? — Youth, 19- 

06, childhood. 
25. — An emblem of royalty? — Crown. 
26. — A scholar? — Pupil. 
27. — Part of a river? — Mouth. 
28. — Spring flowers? — Tulips (two lips). 
29. — The first pens? — Quills. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements li7 

30. — Weapons ? — Arrows. 

31 — A small animal? — Hare (hair). 

32. — A fruit? — Date. 

33. — An ancient mode of punishment? — Stripes. 

34. — The weapon of its infliction? — Lashes. 

PILLOW CLIMBING. 

In the middle of the floor scatter numerous cushions, 
books, dishes, and ask who among your guests will volun- 
teer to walk over the floor between these articles, so as to 
fix in his memory the distances between the various articles 
and their locations. 

Then blindfold him and let him undertake to make his 
way over the same ground, depending on his memory to 
guide his steps and striving not to touch a single article. 

Meanwhile, however, while the handkerchief is being 
ostentatiously fastened over his eyes, some of the company 
present quickly and noiselessly remove every one of the 
objects, leaving the floor absolutely clear. 

It will be a funny sight to all the onlookers to see the 
deluded volunteer carefully lifting his feet to avoid touch- 
ing this and that object which he fancies lies in his path. 

And his look of surprise' when the bandage is lifted 
will be still more comical. 

RELAY RACE. 

The children stand in two or more lines at one end of 
the ground. The first one of each line, carrying a flag or 
handkerchief, races to the opposite end of the ground, 
touches the fence or wall with the flag, and runs back, hand- 
ing the flag to number two, and passing to the rear of the 
line. Number two starts immediately, and upon returning 
hands the flag to number three. After all have run the line 
whose last man returns first wins the race. Those at the 
head of the line whose turn it is to run next, must stand 
with the toe on the line, but not beyond it. They cannot 



US Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

advance to meet the returning racer. Each line should have 
a captain to see that the rules are observed, and an umpire 
should decide points that are questions. 

SACK RACE. 

For this race each one is put into a sack, not fastened, 
however, higher than the neck. The one who is to start the 
race lays the sacked persons in a row, flat upon the ground, 
and at the signal each does his best to roll, hop, or in some 
way get past the winning post. If sacks are not obtainable 
the arms should be tied to the sides at the elbows and 
wrists, and the legs tied together at the ankles. 

SENTENCE-FORMING FUN. 

Each person participating in this game was supplied 
with a sheet of paper on which was a list of words, ten or 
twelve in number. Each person then wrote a few words 
before and after each of the ten given words, in such a way 
as to make a sentence. For example (the black words were 
the original ten) : 

awed by the 

sultan, whose appearance was 

unusual, the people 

dwindle to the 

thatched and lowly 

huts, where 

spices and gold 

inset with jewels, as well as 

politeness, were unknown to the 

crawling people. 

The idea was to make as much sense as possible out 
of the given words, and this is sometimes hard to do, as 
there is often no connection between them. It is a good 
idea to have a spelling book at hand when preparing the 
list, otherwise there may be a tendency to choose words 






^N^^ 




Sack Race. 



120 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

which belong together, making it too easy to make a sen- 
tence, and thus spoiling the fun in the game. 

After all had finished writing the sentences were read 
aloud and compared, and the person who wrote the best 
sentence was presented with a book. The booby prize was 
a small grammar. 



I M sM> I* 



Shadow Circus. 

SHADOW CIRCUS. 

A new game called the shadow circus is described as 
follows: The host or an assistant conducts each guest, on 
arrival, into a room separate from that occupied by the rest 
of the company, and takes a shadow profile of his head by 
seating him between a strong light and a sheet of pretty 
stiff paper pinned to the wall. After placing the head of the 
subject so that his shadow is cast upon the middle of the 
paper, his profile is easily and rapidly outlined on it with a 
pencil. 

The shadow profiles are cut out with a penknife, and 
grotesque bodies are pinned to the various heads, the necks 
being cut narrow enough to match the bodies. (See illus- 
tration at bottom of page.) The figures are then succes- 
sively attached to the back of the sheet, the light making 
the pictures show through the sheet in deep black. 

To obtain a clear, sharp shadow the figure must rest 
at all points against the sheet, and a good way to get the 
result is to slant the sheet slightly. The idea in the shadow 
circus is to let the company guess who the silhouettes repre- 
sent. The bodies may be characteristics of the individual's 
taste or peculiarity without giving offense. The athlete, 
the orator and the singer are suggested in the illustration. 





ir 





shadows' 

ON THE WALL 



SHADOWS ON THE WALL. 

Shadow pantomimes, when skill- 
fully executed, afford endless amuse- 
ment. The diagrams for the position 
of the hands are self-explanatory, but 
considerable practice is necessary. A 
sheet stretched tightly on a frame, and 
a lamp with a lantern lens to focus the 
rays, are all that is required by way of 
an outfit. 

The requirements for making 
shadow pictures are a sheet smoothly 
fastened upon the wall, a light that will 
throw strong rays, and an individual 
with the ability in his hands to make 
the pictures, the shadows of which are 
thrown upon the sheet, 






122 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

A Rabbit. 

Lock little fingers together. Draw back of left hand 
around and flatten it on back of right. Bend first finger 
of left hand for nose and head. Form the ears with sec- 
ond and third fingers. 

A Laborer's Head. 

Close fist of right hand; use thumb for nose. Insert 
between third and little fingers a pipe cut from pasteboard. 
Place left hand over right, curve fingers; bend thumb and 
little finger for hat. 

U. S. Soldier. 

Both hands needed. Cap formed by placing left hand 
on right; peak of cap by extending little finger of left hand. 
Nose is made by third finger, and chin by doubling over 
the little finger. 

A Turtle. 

It is an amusing sight to see a squirming turtle upon 
the screen. The thumb is his head; the little finger, his 
tail; and the first and third fingers, his legs. Keep him in 
constant motion. 

Geronimo. 

To imitate an Indian, keep hands in position accenting 
features, and spread the fingers of the left hand for feathers 
in his hat. Do this and your audience will recognize 
"Geronimo" upon the screen. 

Continental Soldier. 

Hat is formed by left hand with little finger and thumb 
held upright, and other fingers curved. Profile by the right 
hand with thumb extended for nose, and little finger curved 
for the chin. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 123 

An Old Man. 

Use both hands. Curve left hand for hat. Fingers 
of right hand extended and curved make profile. By mov- 
ing the left hand occasionally the hat may be made to 
appear as if being taken off and put on. 

Barking Dog. 

Place hands against each other. Draw back first fin- 
gers for forehead. Thumbs up for ears. Drop little fin- 
gers for jaws. Sway your body and hands, and different 
dogs will appear. 

SHOUTING PROVERBS. 

One person leaves the room and the rest decide upon 
some proverb which he is to guess. 

The words are appointed among the players, one word 
to each in succession. If there are more players than words 
in the proverb, two or more may say the same word. 

At the reappearance of the banished person, all shout 
at once in a loud voice the words which haye been given 
them to say, and he must endeavor to catch the sounds, 
disentangle them from the combination and tell what the 
proverb is. If incorrect or unable to guess it, he must go out 
again, or, if successful, the one who furnished the clue must 
take his place. 

SNATCH THE HANDKERCHIEF. 

The two squads stand fifty feet apart, and on an Indian 
club halfway between is placed a handkerchief. At the 
word "Go" a player from each side runs out to snatch the 
handkerchief and get back without being tagged by the 
other. If she succeeds her opponent becomes her prisoner. 
If tagged she herself becomes the prisoner. The girl who 
fails to get the handkerchief and fails to catch the one who 
did, becomes prisoner. 




Snap Dragon. 






" ■;' •'":••■'• • ■ ■ ~ .. 




Straddle Club. 



128 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

possible. The bargaining becomes very shrewd and merry 
until all of the parcels have been swapped, oftentimes more 
than once. Then they are opened, the best bargain winning 
first prize, the poorest compelling the holder to tell a story, 
suggest a game, sing or recite for the entertainment of the 
company. 

TELEGRAMS. 

Each person of the company is furnished with paper 
and pencil and all are in turn requested to suggest letters 
of the alphabet to the number of ten, which are duly writ- 
ten at the top of each sheet of paper, in the same order in 
which they are given. The players are then requested to 
compose a telegram having no more or less than ten words, 
each beginning with the letter that has been suggested. 

The time given is usually ten minutes, which may be 
shortened or lengthened to suit convenience. 

Examples. — The letters given are T, A, G, Y, I, P, S, 
E, H, M. — "Tom's auto gets you into poverty. Sam Easton 
holds money/' "Time allowed gone yesterday. Interview 
personally some energetic, honest, man." 

TESTING FATES. 

Upon the floor are twelve candles in a row, all alight 
and each of a different color. Each candle stands for a 
month in the year. The white one for January, blue for 
February, pale green for March, bright green for April, 
violet for May, light pink for June, dark pink for July, yel- 
low for August, lilac for September, crimson for October, 
orange for November, scarlet for December. Each child in 
turn is invited to jump over the candles, and if the feat be 
accomplished without extinguishing a single candle, pros- 
perity and happiness are in store through all the months 
of the coming year; but if one is put out, ill-luck threatens 
in the month whose shining is thus eclipsed; while to knock 
one over, predicts dire calamity. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 129 

THANKSGIVING FEAST. 

Cards are distributed upon each of which is writ- 
ten a list of objects suggestive of a feast, opposite to which 
the players write their guesses of what dishes are described. 
For instance: 

i. Soup — Imitation reptile. 

2. Fish — Collect on delivery. 

3. Roasts— The country of the crescent, and Adam's 
wife — served with a sauce of what undid her. 

4. Vegetables— Two kinds of toes ne'er found on 
man or beast; a mild term for stealing; what your heart 
does. 

5. Puddings— What we say to a nuisance, and exactly 
perpendicular. 

6. Pies— An affected gait, and related to a well. 

7. Fruit — a kind of shot. 
The answers are: 

1. Soup — Mock turtle. 

2. Fish— C O D. 

3. Roasts— Turkey and sparerib with apple sauce. 

4. Vegetables— Potatoes and tomatoes, cabbage, 
beets. 

5. Puddings— Sa-go and plum(b). 

6. Pies — Mince and pumpkin. 

7. Fruit — Grape. 

TOM TIDDLER'S LAND. 

A boundary line marks out "Tom Tiddler's Land/' on 
which stands a player. The rest intrude on the forbidden 
precinct, but if touched must take his place. The words of 
the challenge are: 

I'm on Tommy Tiddler's land, 

Picking up gold and silver. 



This Eldorado has many different local names— Van 
Diemen's land in Connecticut; Dixie's land in New York, 



130 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

an expression which antedates the war; Judge Jeffory's land 
in Devonshire, England; Golden Pavement in Philadelphia. 

In the southern states "Tommy Tiddler's Land" is the 
name of the spot where the rainbow rests, and where it is 
supposed by children that a pot of gold is buried. 

"Tommy Tiddler" represents the jealous fairy or dwarf 
who attacks any who approach his treasure. 

TORPEDO HUNT. 

Get about twelve packages of torpedoes of different 
sizes. They should be hidden under bushes, in nooks and 
shady places, in low limbs of trees, among the roots of 
shrubs and ledges of the piazza. Each child is provided 
with a little cartridge-bag made of duck, and is told of the 
hidden torpedoes. These are hunted for and when all of 
the children have returned with their treasure they are fired 
off. 

TOSSING CHESTNUTS. 

A bowl-shaped basket about nine inches in diameter is 
placed at one end of the room. Each child receives ten 
chestnuts, and standing eight feet from the basket tries to 
throw them, one at a time, into it. The score is kept and 
the child who has succeeded in tossing the greatest number 
of chestnuts into the basket wins. 

THE DANCING EGG. 

Get a hard boiled egg and place it on the reverse side 
of a smooth polished plate or bread platter. If you now 
turn the plate around while holding it in horizontal posi- 
tion, the egg f which is in the middle of it, will turn around 
also, and as the pace is quickened, the egg will move more 
and more quickly, until it stands up on one end and spins 
around like a top. In order to be quite sure that the experi- 
ment will succeed, you should keep the egg upright while 
it is being boiled, so that the inside may be hardened in the 
proper position. 




Tossing Chestnuts. 






132 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

THE SWIMMING NEEDLES. 

The simplest way to make a needle float on the surface 
of the water is to place a piece of tissue paper on the water 
arid lay the needle on it; the paper soon becomes soaked 
with water and sinks to the bottom, while the needle is left 
floating on the top. 

Another way is to hang the needle in two slings made 
of threads, which must be carefully drawn away as soon as 
the needle floats. You can make a needle float by simply 
holding it in your fingers and laying it on the water. This, 
however, requires a very steady hand. 

If you magnetize a sewing needle by rubbing it on a 
fairly strong magnet, and float it on the water, it will make 
an extremely sensitive compass, and if you place two 
needles on the water at the same time, you will see them 
slowly approach each other until they float side by side; 
that is, if they do not strike together so heavily as to cause 
them to sink. 

A SIMPLE AND PUZZLING BOARD ILLUSION. 

A very puzzling illusion may be presented in this man- 
ner: Procure a piece of thin board of soft wood, say pine; 
it should be a foot and a half in length and a couple of inches 
wide. Place it upon an ordinary kitchen table, allowing 
the end to protrude half its length almost beyond the table. 
Now place a newspaper upon the table, covering the board 
to the edge as illustrated, and smooth it out carefully, be- 
ing sure that the paper is in perfect contact with the board 
as well as with the table. Then announce to the company 
assembled that, with no other fastening upon the board 
than the sheet of newspaper, you propose to strike the end of 
the board hard enough to break it, or at least to tilt the 
table. It will appear impossible. Every one will imagine 
that the newspaper will be torn in two as soon as the edge 
of the board is struck, but this will not occur. Strike it a 
smart, sharp blow with the hand or an instrument, and the 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 133 

board will either break off or tilt the table and remain fast 
to it, just as if it had been nailed fast. The explanation is 
simple. When the blow is struck there is a tendency to tilt 
the end of the board upon the table, but the air having been 
pressed out from under the paper a semi-vacuum has been 
created, and the compression of air upon the outer edge of 
the paper holds the board fast. 

SOME TRICKS WITH A HAT, EGGS AND A HAND- 
KERCHIEF. 

There is always mystery in a high hat, particularly 
when a magician gets hold of it. Borrow a tall hat from 
some one of the gentlemen in your company and assure 
him that you can produce from it any number of eggs. 
Visions of broken eggs and a ruined hat may chill his indi- 
vidual appreciation of the trick, perhaps, but it will afford 
no end of fun for the others, and there is not the slightest 
danger of injuring his property. Eggs, when used in sleight 
of hand experiments should be blown. To prepare them 
pick a pin hole in each end of the shell. Place the lips over 
one aperture and by blowing into it the entire contents of 
the eggs will be forced out at the other opening, leaving the 
shell only. A small piece of white court plaster applied 
conceals the pin holes, and the empty shell looks perfectly 
natural. Having secured the tall hat, place a quantity of 
cotton in it, ostensibly for a nest in which your invisible hen 
is to lay her eggs. In the bunch of cotton, surreptitiously, 
of course, convey a number of real eggs — which need not 
necessarily be blown as above described — and leave them 
in the hat for future use. 

It may vary your experiment somewhat by announcing 
that the mysterious eggs will be produced from an ordinary 
silk handkerchief, in which event proceed as follows: Take 
a large silk or bandana handkerchief from your table, where 
it has been lying. To the middle of the hem of this hand- 
kerchief has previously been fastened a slender thread, to 



134: Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

which in turn, is fastened the blown shell of an egg, as 
show in illustration A. Place one corner of the handker- 
chief between your teeth, and with one hand stretch it out 
before the spectators, showing that it is simply a handker- 
chief and nothing else. Slowly fold the handkerchief in the 
middle, toward yourself, concealing the blown egg behind 
and within it as you fold it, as shown in illustration B. 
Then allow the egg to roll from the handkerchief into the 
hat, as shown in illustration C. The thread is, of course, 
attached to the empty shell, and to recover it open the 
handkerchief, first to show that it contains nothing, then 
carefully fold it again in the middle, at the same time draw- 
ing the attached shell underneath the fold — illustration D. 
When it is fairly under the folding handkerchief it is easily 
picked up again behind it, and the original operation of 
putting the egg into the hat is repeated, with, of course, 
whatever manipulations the performer may suggest to add 
to the mystery of his movements. 

After having repeated this operation as many times 
as you really have eggs in the hat, break the string, allow- 
ing your blown shell to remain in it. Then remove the 
eggs, one at a time, and show them to your spectators. 
They have seen you produce the eggs in the handkerchief, 
one at a time, and are morally certain that their eyes have 
not deceived them. 

HOW TO DRIVE A NEEDLE THROUGH A COPPER 

COIN. 

An apparent mechanical impossibility may be accom- 
plished by simple means, using a copper cent, and a cork, 
with a common cambric needle as accessor^- Announce 
that you will drive a small needle through a. coin, and few 
will be ready to accept your statement, yet it is very simple 
and any one can do it. Take a copper coin, place it upon 
two small blocks of wood, leaving a very narrow open space 
between the blocks. Now, having selected a good, sound 






n 



B 






v_ 



FI&.X 



FIG-.l 



-^ 




FIG.3 




PIG". 4- 



g 



4^y 



FIG. G 




FIG.T 



FIG-.8 




FIG-.8 



Tricks. 




FiG.lO FIG. II 



136 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

cork, force the needle through it until the point just appears 
at the other end. Break off the portion of the head of the 
needle showing above the top of the cork. Place the cork 
upon the coin and strike it a fair, smart blow with a ham- 
mer. The needle will be driven entirely through the penny 
by a single blow. 

THE HEIGHT OF A HAT. 

Very few people have any idea of the real height of a 
gentleman's high hat, as you will easily discover if you show 
one to the company. After they have viewed the hat, take 
it out of the room, and ask those present to mark what they 
suppose to be the height of it on the wall. When this has 
been done, bring the hat in again, and you will find that 
nearly every one is absurdly out in this attempt. 

PAPER TRICKS. 

Tear up a bit of soft paper into tiny scraps and lay 
them on the table, then blow on them through an empty 
cotton reel. Instead of blowing away, some of the scraps 
will jump up and cling to the reel. 

If you take a stick of sealing wax and rub it well 
against your sleeve until it is warm, and then hold it close 
to these scraps of paper, they will jump up and cling to the 
wax. 

THE MAGIC THREAD. 

Soak a piece of thread in a solution of salt or alum (of 
course your audience must not know you have done this). 
When dry, borrow a very light ring, and fix it to the thread, 
apply the thread to the flame of a candle; it will burn to 
ashes, but will still support the ring. 

HOW TO LIGHT A CANDLE WITHOUT TOUCH- 
ING IT. 

Having allowed a candle to burn until it has a long 
snuff, blow it out suddenly. A wreath of smoke will ascend 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 137 

into the air. Now if a lighted match is put to the smoke 
at a distance of three or four inches from the wick, the fire 
will run down the cloud and relight the candle. 

REMOVING A COIN FROM A GLASS WITHOUT 
TOUCHING EITHER. 

Another and almost equally simple experiment is none 
the less perplexing to those who have never seen it at- 
tempted. Procure a small tapering glass, the largest diam- 
eter of which is just a trifle greater than that of a silver 
dollar. Place a ten-cent-piece in the bottom of the glass, 
and the silver dollar above it, to serve as a lid. Now ask 
your guests to take the ten-cent-piece out of the glass with- 
out touching either coin or the glass that holds it. All sorts 
of devices will be suggested, but none that come within 
the limit of the rule you have laid down. After it has been 
given up, place your lips a few inches from the rim of the 
glass and blow downward, obliquely, but smartly, upon the 
edge of the dollar within the glass. The force of the air 
will turn the dollar over upon its own axis and at the same 
time will force the smaller coin to leap out, as the dollar is 
turning. 

THE FEAT OF BLOWING A CORK INTO A BOTTLE. 

Ask some of the ladies if they think they can blow a 
small bit of cork, which you have placed in the mouth of a 
bottle, so that it will go into the bottle. Lay the bottle 
on the table upon its side, and place the bit of cork about, 
an inch or less inside the open end. The ladies will blow 
until they get red in the face, and the cork will invariably 
come out of the bottle instead of going into it. Simple 
reason for it, too : the direction of the air, forced by the one 
blowing, brings it against the bottom of the bottle. The 
air compresses within the bottle's walls and must find out- 
let, therefore is turned and forced out at the only vent the 
bottle has, necessarily blowing the cork out with it. But 



138 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

take a common lemonade straw, place the end of it near the 
cork in the bottle neck, blow very gently — and the cork rolls 
in. 

THE MYSTERY OF THE OBEDIENT PARLOR 

TABLE. 

Table tipping and similar feats are always in demand, 
and^ are always appreciated, particularly if the spectators 
know in advance that they are to be deceived by purely 
mechanical means. You can make a light parlor table or 
chair obey your will, and move when you want it to in the 
easiest possible manner, and no one will be able to detect 
you after you have practiced it a little. 

Attach a silken thread to the inseam of the trousers 
below the knee, allowing it to fall in a loop almost to the 
floor. Pick up the small table, ask your friends to examine 
it, and then place it upon the floor allowing one of its legs 
to fall within the loop of the thread; step backward and 
command the table to move. As soon as you have tautened 
the thread the table will naturally go where it is pulled, 
and the audience will believe that you have some inexplica- 
ble means of forcing its obedience. 

TURNING A GLASS OF WATER UPSIDE DOWN 
WITHOUT SPILLING. 

To do those things which at first glance are so plainly 
opposed to all natural laws as to become remarkable, in- 
variably attracts attention. For instance, if you are able 
to pick up a glass filled with water and turn it upside-down 
without spilling a drop, particularly when there is no cov- 
ering over or around the glass, you will create instant in- 
terest. It is one of those tricks which should be done 
quickly, as if it were only a little side show, and as quickly 
disposed of, allowing the audience to marvel at it, and 
wonder how it was accomplished. A disk of perfect isin- 
glass over the mouth of the tumbler will, with the natural 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements .139 

pressure of the air, keep the water from coming out. It is 
a skillful experiment however, and requires more practice 
than some of the others I have mentioned, but is very 
effective indeed. 



PUTTING A BIRD IN AN EMPTY CAGE. 

A pretty little optical illusion may be worked in this 
fashion: Take a disk of cardboard upon which you have 
drawn a bird cage. Show it to your friends and let them 
see that it is simply a bit of card. If you are at all skillful 
in handling it you will be able to make them believe they 
have seen both sides, when you have only shown them one. 
Exactly in the center of the disk, on the reverse side, you 
have drawn the figure of a bird. A bit of string attached to 
holes in the extreme edge of the cardboard disk will enable 
you to twirl the card rapidly with your fingers. The result- 
ing illusion will show the bird in the cage sitting upon his 
perch where your friends before saw only the empty cage. 
When the twirling stops the cage is empty. If this manip- 
ulation is found too difficult, the illusion itself, having 
shown both sides of the card, is entertaining. 

MESMERIC TRICK. 

Offer to mesmerize any lady so that she cannot get up 
alone, and when one volunteers, place her in a chair in the 
center of the room and sit facing her, requesting all of the 
company to keep quiet and unite their wills with yours. 
Ask the lady to fold her arms and lean back comfortably, 
and proceed to make a variety of passes and motions with 
your hands with great solemnity. After a few moments 
say, "Get up," and as she rises from her chair you rise at 
the same moment, and say, "I told you, you could not get 
up alone." If she suspects a trick and does not rise, of 
course your reply is the same. 



14:0 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

TO LIGHT A SNOW BALL WITH A MATCH. 

Roll a snow ball and put it on a plate. While rolling 
contrive to slip a piece of camphor into the- top of it. The 
camphor must be about the size and shape of a chestnut, 
and it must be pushed into the soft snow so as to be invisi- 
ble, the smaller end uppermost, to which the match should 
be applied. 

WALKING MATCHES. 

Split a match at one end, and in the notch put the point- 
ed end of another match. Now set these in a riding position 
on the blade of a knife, which you must ask some one to hold 
so that the heads of the matches will just touch the table, and 
tell him to keep it quite still. In a few moments, however, 
much to his surprise, the matches will begin moving along 
the knife-blade, and will, if allowed continue to do so until 
they reach the end. This is caused by the unconscious 
movement made by the hand of the person holding the 
knife. 

FILLING A GLASS OF WATER WITH SMOKE. 

I will give one chemical experiment that very rarely 
fails to produce a marked effect upon spectators. A glass 
or goblet is placed upon a stand or table and covered with 
a plate. The magician steps away a distance of twenty 
feet or less, blows a puff of smoke from his lips from a cigar 
or cigarette, and the goblet is filled with smoke. It is a 
weird, mysterious trick, but is as simple as it seems difficult. 
Prepare the goblet by placing a few drops of chemically 
pure ammonia in it. Prepare the plate by placing two or 
three minims of muriatic acid upon it. Until the plate is 
placed over the glass containing the ammonia neither of 
the chemicals will be detected. But as soon as the fumes of 
the ammonia come into contact with the muriatic acid, 
dense fumes, looking exactly like smoke, are evolved and 
the illusion is perfect. During the very brief interval re- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 141 

quired for the operator to walk away from the glass his 
own movements and his conversation will hold the attention 
of his audience until he has had time to blow forth a cloud 
of smoke. 

SOME SIMPLE, INTERESTING AND MYSTIFYING 

FEATS. 

A simple experiment in magnetism may be described 
thus : Take a piece of paper, say about twelve by six inches, 
and after heating it to exclude all moisture, pass it briskly 
between the body and arm. The magnetism it will gain 
from the body will cause small clippings of paper to fly to 
it from distances varying from a few inches to a foot, with 
no apparent cause. 

A few dexterous passes and a little accompanying chat 
added to a simple illusion or deception can be formed into 
a pretty trick in this manner: Take a coin, display it to 
the audience, make a few rapid passes with it up and down 
the front of a cabinet or wardrobe door. Remove your hand 
and the coin will "adhere to the door. The explanation of 
a seemingly impossible feat is simple. The thin film of air 
between the coin and the wood surface is discharged by 
heat, and the semi-vacuum formed by the friction causes 
the coin to remain fast to the wood. It can be so elaborated 
with practice as to make it appear that the coin adheres 
to the wood simply because the operator commands it to 
do so. 

One of the oldest and simplest tricks is still popular 
and pleasing. Give your audience a plain empty bottle, 
and ask them to lift it with a lemonade straw, which you 
also hand them. Unless some of them have seen the trick 
before, no one, of course, will be able to do it. Bend the 
straw as indicated in the accompanying illustration, and 
you will see how easily the feat, which at first strikes one 
as being difficult, can be accomplished. It is so simple that 
it really needs no further explanation. 



14:2 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Tie securely the ends of a string about half a yard long. 
This makes the string double. Pass one end through one 
of the handles of a pair of scissors. Then thread the other 
end through it, and after that through the other handle ,- 
draw the loop tight. 

Now pick up the free end of the string and hang it on 
a hook (or hold it between your fingers) and tell one of 
your friends you defy him to release the scissors from the 
string without meddling with the end that is attached to 
the hook (or to your fingers.) 

He will almost surely say: "I give up. Show me how 
it is done." The way to do it is to pull the loop loose from 
one handle of the scissors, pass it through the other handle 
in exactly the reverse fashion to the way that it was brought 
through in the first place, pull it until it is long enough for 
you to carry it completely over the pair of scissors and 
bring it around back to the handle you started it from. 

Another trick or puzzle has been described by a Phil- 
adelphia boy. Make k by taking a couple of four-inch wire 
nails and bending them cross-fashion, leaving a small open- 
ing where they cross each other. 

The puzzle is: How can the nails be got apart and 
then put together again? Try it, boys; it can be done. 

TWISTED ANIMALS. 

Here is a game that everybody would enjoy. It has 
one advantage that should commend it to young and old 
alike — it may be made quite simple and easy to play, or 
quite difficult, if so desired. That is to say, you may use a 
list of animals, such as we give here in illustration, or a list 
of phrases or sentences, the latter being, of course, the 
more difficult to "untwist/' 

In preparing for the game, you write a list like the fol- 
lowing, all the names being twisted, or "pied," as the print- 
ers say, with the letters arranged in complete disorder. It 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 143 

is much better to make a typewritten list, for ordinary hand- 
writing would not be plain enough. 

1. Peesh. 8. Aimcosh. 

2. Duggop. 9- Grabed. 

3. Roast Slab. 10. Retirer. 

4. Leap Then. n. Parti. 

5. Firfage. 12. Kacopec. 

6. Torte. 13. Somsoup. 

7. Rugaja. 14- Unnepig. 

Give one of those lists to each player, with a duplicate 
list of the numbers at the bottom of the sheet, and having 
fixed a time limit, say, of half an hour, offer a prize to the 
player who first succeeds in writing the real names oppo- 
site to the numbers. 

Here is the "untwisted" list: 

1. Sheep. 8. Chamois. 

2. Pug dog. 9. Badger. 

3. Albatross. 10. Terrier. 

4. Elephant. 11. Tapir. 

5. Giraffe. 12. Peacock. 

6. Otter. 13. Opossum. 

7. Jaguar. 14. Penguin. 

UP JENKINS. 

There are few merrier games than this, and its only 
requirement is a silver quarter. 

The company seats itself at a table, the opponents fac- 
ing each other. All the hands of the side which has the 
coin are held under the table until the person acting as cap- 
tain of the opposite side gives the order, "Up Jenkins!" 
when all hands, tightly closed, are held up high above the 
table. At the captain's order, "Down Jenkins!" all hands 
are brought down simultaneously on the table, palms down- 
ward, as much noise as possible being made so as to drown 



144 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

the clink of the coin. Care must be taken to obey only the 
command "up" or "down Jenkins" — nothing else — and to 
obey no one but the person acting then as captain; other- 
wise the coin has to be forfeited to the other side. 

The captain looks at the hands before him and orders 
each hand in turn off the table that he has decided has not 
the coin under it. 

If the coin is discovered to be in the hand last ordered 
off the table, the coin goes to the side of the captain who 
guessed correctly, but if he guesses incorrectly, and the coin 
is under one of the hands that he has ordered off, the side 
holding the piece of money keeps it again, adding to its 
score the number of hands still remaining on the table. 

Each person takes the position of captain in turn. A 
time limit is the only way to end this game. 

WATER SPRITE. 

The players stand in two lines facing each other with 
a large open space, representing a river, between. The wa- 
ter sprite, standing in the river, beckons to one of the players 
to cross. This one signals to a player on the other side, 
and they run to exchange places. If the water sprite tags 
either one of the players while crossing that one then be- 
comes the sprite. This game is sometimes played in schools 
where some of the players are little Chinese. When these 
beckon and signal they have a little rigmarole which they 
repeat in their own language. American children think it 
very odd and very pretty. The game is said to be of Chi- 
nese origin and to be founded upon a legend which says that 
every year a sprite appears in the rivers, beckoning to the 
people on the shores. It is a fancy, of course, and the sprite 
represents spring. While the children in China are always 
curious to get a glimpse of her, they are more or less fear- 
ful that if they should see her they might be compelled to 
obey her when she beckons them to come. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 145 

WAXWORKS. 

"Waxworks" rather resemble Tableaux. The actors 
have, to represent wax figures and must be very still and en- 
deavor to look like wax. They are, of course, dressed for 
their parts. After being exhibited immovable, they are ap- 
parently wound up from behind by a little boy. The little 
scooping toy used in village fairs may be employed for this 
to make the winding noise, and then the wax figures move, 
awkwardly and stiffly, as clockworks generally do. Those 
who have seen the waxworks can imagine the fun they 
afford. Mrs. Jarley describes them, or a pretty Little Nell 
might do so, and much fun may be got out of the descrip- 
tions. Or you may exhibit Artemus Ward's famous show, 
and favor the audience with some of his jokes. 

The following figures in position make excellent wax- 
works: Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex, Queen 
Eleanor and Fair Rosamond, Madame de Brinvelliers, 
dressed in the fashion of her age, that of Louis XIV., hold- 
ing a goblet of poison. 

WHEEL OF FORTUNE. 

A picture of a wheel is drawn upon a slate, and a num- 
ber written between each of its spokes. The eyes being 
then closed, the child whose turn it is raises a pencil in the 
air, twirling it, and saying : 

Tit for tat, 
Butter for fat, 
If you kill my dog, I'll kill your cat. 

At the last word the pencil is brought down; if the 
point of the pencil falls on a space, the number there writ- 
ten is scored; if on a line, or outside the circle, or on a num- 
ber previously secured (and erased by a line), the turn is 
forfeited. The game is continued until a certain number 
has been scored by the winning player. 



146 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

WITCH IN THE JAR. 

One of the children is selected for a witch, and each of 
the others chooses some tree or post for a goal. The witch 
then marks out on the ground with a stick as many cir- 
cles as there are players, which she calls "jars." The chil- 
dren run out from their homes, and are pursued by the 
witch. Whenever she catches one she puts him in one of 
her jars, from which he cannot escape unless someone else 
chooses to free him by touching. Once freed, he cannot be 
recaught until he has reached his home, and ventures out 
once more. The freer, however, can be caught, and as the 
witch keeps guard over her prisoners, it is a dangerous task 
for a player to attempt to set his companions free. When 
all are caught a new witch is chosen. 

WRIGGLES. 

This artistic problem need frighten no one who may 
lack confidence in his power to give expression to his 
thought with his pencil, for this disqualification will but 
add to the fun of the conquest. 

The players being provided with pad and pencil, each 
draws a short irregular line upon the paper and then passes 
it to his neighbor. The person who receives it must ad- 
dress himself to the problem of drawing a picture-figure, 
bird, beast, or what he pleases — incorporating the "wig- 
gle." He may turn the paper in any direction he pleases 
in order to facilitate his success, and, before submitting it 
to the criticism of the company, should make the "wiggle" 
part of the drawing heavier in outline, to distinguish it from 
the rest. 

When all the drawings are complete and the artist has 
written his name on his work, they are intrusted to the 
leader, who exhibits them in turn, inviting the freest crit- 
icism. The name of the artist ( ?) of the cleverest or most 
ridiculous of them is revealed, and he should with becoming 
modesty accept the plaudits of the crowd. 







% 



Witch in the Jar. 




PASTIMES 

AND 

SEMENTS 

) 

FOR GIRLS 




FUN WITH APPLES AND GOURDS. 

Cut an apple through its center, from the stem dimple 
downward, take out all of the seeds but two, and any style of 
face, only needing a few lines to complete it, may be made. 

In the apple-core alphabet illustrated seek your own in- 
itial letter, and try to draw it. If the expression neither fits 
nor suits you very well cut an apple from the stem dimple 
downward, scrape the pulp out from around the core and 
with a sharp penknife add the lines of expression nearer to 
suit your own appearance. Put corners in the mouth as 
you usually cultivate them, up or down. If you have a W 
or a V at the upper part of the nose between the eyebrows, 
even if such a W does mean worry, put it in. 

A variety of amusing things may be made from the 
ornamental gourds which are to be seen in such profusion 
and in so many gardens at the end of the summer. These 
gourds of themselves are sufficiently odd in shape and gen- 
eral make-up to afford children an abundance of fun, and 
by calling in the aid of a little imaginative ingenuity they 
may be fashioned into dolls, animals or ridiculous objects 
of any sort, shape or kind. 

Nor is any skill required in the creation of these droll 
creatures, for the materials lend themselves to the gro- 
tesque with such a willing ease that they practically create 













FUN WITH APPLES 

AND 

GOURDS 

themselves. The odd-looking "goop," 
for instance, is simply a couple of 
gourds attached to each other with a 
piece of whalebone. The ridiculous 
features are marked on with pen and 
ink, while the upright queue is but 
a gourd root stuck into the top of the 
head. Nothing could be simpler in 
construction, yet when this "goop" be- 
gins to roll its head about, which it does 
at the slightest movement of the doll, 
the effect that is produced is comical in- 
deed. 

In making the "goop" the strip of 
whalebone which holds the two gourds 
in place should be four inches in length, 
and a space varying from an eighth to a 
quarter of an inch should be left between 
the two gourds so as to allow the head 
to bob up and down on the flexible 
whalebone neck. 

The chief charm of these gourds, 
however, is their ability to unite with 
other materials. It would be difficult 
to improve on the funny legs of the 
"leaf-bearing tortoise," yet they are but 
short pumpkin stalks taken haphazard 
from four pumpkins. The piece of 











150 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



pumpkin vine inserted in the head, the gourd leaf stuck in 
the end of this, and the gourd-root tail all combine to make 
a most ridiculous-looking animal. 

The same simplicity characterizes the "J U J U bird." 
The gourds are attached to each other with whalebone, the 
features drawn on with pen and ink, excepting the mouth, 
which is cut in with a penknife, while the plumage consists 




LEAF-BEARING TORTOISE 





CORN-HUSK DOLL 



CHINEE 



of chicken feathers arranged carelessly in the wings and 
tail. In the one illustrated two bits of timothy have been 
introduced as antennae, and although the like of the creature 
was never seen on land or sea the result is far from inhar- 
monious. 

Chicken feathers may be easily inserted into the 
gourds after holes have been pierced in the latter with a 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 151 

hatpin. In the "Juju bird" the short stalks of the gourds 
themselves furnished the legs. 

The doll shown in the illustration on the left is made 
from a corn-cob, husks and silk. The hard cob forms the 
body. The skirts, the gown, the sash, the parasol and the 
bonnet are fashioned from the dried variegated husks, while 
the hair is formed of the dried silk which the hot sun has 
turned to a rich auburn tint. The head is covered with the 
husk, the face painted by hand, and the bonnet decorated 
with loops and fringed ends of husk. What more fascinat- 
ing employment is there for a child than the fashioning of 
a doll with so little expenditure? 

FUN WITH EGG SHELLS. 

To make the blossoming egg-shells, place upon a slen- 
der branch a drop of melted sealing wax, and before this 
hardens stick in four fragments of egg-shell so as to form 
a flower. Keep on doing this until the branch is well 
stocked with blossoms. Fragments of egg-shell do not re- 
quire cutting; those taken at random from the breakfast 
table serve admirably. In placing blossoms in position it 
is well to follow the arrangement shown in the illustration. 

Night lilies may be made by first soaking a number 
of "half-shells" in warm water for twenty minutes. Then 
scallop the edges of these with a pair of sharp scissors. 
Fasten a small piece of candle in each with sealing wax, and 
float upon the water. A most enchanting scene is produced 
by floating these in an aquarium containing goldfish. All 
other lights in the room must be turned out. 

To make the candlestick, place upon a piece of card- 
board three eggs, and fasten to cardboard and to each other 
with sealing wax. On top of these three fasten another 
Qgg y and on this again a stick about five inches in height. 
Upon the top of this stick fasten a "half-shell" which has 
been previously scalloped, and place in a dainty candle. The 



152 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

illustration shows exactly how the candlestick looks after 
it is made. 

To make the egg-shell rooster, fasten two pieces of a 
match to an egg, about three-quarters of an inch apart. Set 
the egg in position on these, and hold in place, while fasten- 
ing lower ends of matches with sealing wax to a firm base. 
Attach two large pieces of ragged shell to the egg for wings ; 
use a slender piece of tallow, taken from the side of a candle, 
for the neck; and on top of this place a small chunky lump 
of the same material for a head. The pieces of tallow may 
be easily joined together by first slightly melting the ends 
where adherence is desired. The rooster's bill is made of 
two small fragments of shell stuck into the tallow head. 
The eyes are two tiny drops of sealing wax. The comb is 
a piece of flattened sealing wax, and the tail is a ragged 
piece of egg-shell. The feet may be made of sealing wax 
drawn into shape while it is still soft. 

An egg-shell and candle-grease swan may be made by 
emptying an egg and sealing it up carefully. Then fasten 
on wings of ragged egg-shell, tail of an odd-shaped piece 
of tallow, and neck and head of tallow. 

For the bill thrust into the head two burnt matches; 
press in two pieces of tallow for eyes, and fasten a coin 
for ballast to the bottom of the egg with sealing wax. 

To make an egg yacht, first empty an uncooked hen's 
egg. Do this by making a small hole in each end, when the 
contents may be blown out easily. Then close up both 
openings with sealing wax; join a number of coins together 
for the keel, fasten this firmly to the egg — all fastenings to 
be made with sealing wax — and your yacht is ready for 
launching. If it floats properly cut out the mast and spars 
from very light wood; fasten these to hull and to each other 
with sealing wax. Place the delicate wooden rudder and 
bowsprit in position, and proceed to make sails of tissue 
paper. Fasten the main and top sails in place with prepared 
glue — the jib sails first to long pieces of thread, and these, 




7\RCK 
Fun With Egg Shells. 



!54 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

in turn, to mast and bowsprit. Flags and pennants may be 
made to adhere with mucilage or glue. The exact dimen- 
sions of mast and spars cannot be given, as so much depends 
upon the lightness of the material used and the size of the 
egg hull. Select as large an egg as can be procured for the 
hull; make the mast and spars as light as possible, and see 
that your yacht always sets perfectly even upon the surface 
of the water. 

To make the revolving fairy lamps, fasten to an emp- 
tied egg four slender sticks, each four inches in length. Up- 
on the lower end of the egg fasten a tack, point downward, 
with sealing wax. From the tip of each stick suspend with 
delicate wire a scalloped "half-shell," and on top of the egg 
place another. Set the whole upon the bottom of an in- 
verted tumbler. If rightly made it will balance perfectly 
upon the tack-point. Place pieces of candles inside of scal- 
loped shells and light. Wire may be fastened to the egg- 
shells by boring a hole with the point of a penknife and 
then passing through wire, and fastening on the inside. 

The "Dewey arch" may be made by taking the cover 
of a stout pasteboard box and cutting out a piece in the 
center to form the arch. Then with tacks firmly fasten the 
cover in upright position to a piece of board. Previous to 
doing this have ready a lot of ends of egg-shells and attach 
these with sealing wax to the cover, as shown in the illustra- 
tion. When the face of the arch is completed fasten on top 
a small pasteboard box, and to this fasten egg-shells. Upon 
the corners of the arch place two upright egg-shells. Upon 
the top of the small box place half an egg-shell, and upon 
the top of this again fasten a light flagpole with flag. For 
the lamps take two half egg-shells and fasten them in posi- 
tion on the board about six inches in front of the arch. 
Upon the top of these half-shells place whole eggs, and up- 
on the top of these, half-shells. Into each of these half- 
shells place a small piece of lighted candle, and inverted 
over this another half-shell. Cut the last half-shells jag- 
gedly so as to let air in for the candles. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 155 

By painting the board black, and turning out all other 
lights in the room a marvelous effect is produced with the 
arch lit by fairy lamps. 

Make all the fastenings with red sealing wax, as it adds 
to the effect. Where candles are to be used turn out all 
the lights. 

RAG DOLLS AND HOME MADE TOYS AND DOLL 

FURNITURE. 

The toy animals shown in accompanying illustrations 
are made of colored Canton flannel and stuffed with bran. 
The legs of all except the camel are stiffened with pieces of 
wood. For the camel's legs, which are bent and quite thin, 
ribbon wire is used. Shoe buttons are used for the eyes 
except in the smaller animals, when colored beads are 
utilized. 

In making, stitch the pieces securely together on the 
wrong side, then turn inside out, leaving a space large 
enough to introduce a funnel, through which the bran may 
be poured. When the animal is quite full the space may 
be overseamed. Before sewing the soles of the feet on, run 
wires or sticks into the legs. Clothespins will answer nice- 
ly for this purpose. Indicate the mouth with coarse black 
thread; if it should be necessary to show teeth use white 
beads. 

The camel in the accompanying illustration is made of 
yellow Canton flannel. The pattern is cut in four pieces; 
each side of body, ear, tail and sole of foot. A dart is taken 
in the head from the lower side of the jaw to the ear. Wires 
are run in the legs. The end of the tail is of the Canton 
flannel braided and fringed out. 

The horse in illustration is made of brown Canton 
flannel. The pattern is in four pieces: Side of body, inside 
of legs, ear and sole of foot. The mane and tail are made 
of heavy black crochet silk. 










I* -o» 



RAG DOLLS, 
HOME-MADE TOYS 

AND 
DOLL FURNITURE. 

The pug dog shown in illustration 
is made of yellow Canton flannel. The 
pattern is in five pieces: Sides of head, 
body and inside of legs, tail and ear. 
The head pieces are sewed together and 
the darts taken on it. The portions of 
the body are sewed together and joined 
to the head. After the seams are 
stitched and turned, stuff and stiffen 
the legs. Put the tail on after it has 
been wired and stiffened. Sew on the 
ears and paint the nose and ears with 
black paint. Sew black shoe buttons in 
for the eyes. Make a collar of ribbon. 

The elephant in accompanying il- 
lustration is made of gray Canton flan- 
nel. The pattern is in four pieces : Each 
side of the body, ear, tusk and sole of 
foot. The tail is cut with the body. 
The tusks are made of white satin and 
stiffened with wire. The saddle-cloth 
is of bright red velveteen trimmed with 
tinsel and bells. Clothespins are used 







Games, Pastimes and Amusements 157 

to stiffen the legs, and shoe buttons for eyes. The trunk 
is stiffened with bonnet wire and bent into a very decided 
curve. 

The pig in illustration is made of gray Canton flannel 
with oil paint rubbed on it to give the peculiar skin-like ap- 
pearance. The twilled side of the Canton flannel is used 
for the outside. The pattern is in four pieces: Each side 
of body, ear, end of nose and tail. Wire is run in the tail 
and legs. Ears and end of nose are lined with pink. 
| The rabbit, cat and mouse illustrated are all made of 
white Canton flannel. The pattern for each of these is in 
four pieces, except the rabbit, whose tail is cut with the body. 
Pink shoe buttons are used for the eyes of the cat and rabbit, 
and pink beads for the eyes of the mouse. Make whiskers 
of thread. The cat has a pink ribbon with bell tied around 
her neck. 

The rag dolls illustrated on this page have the heads 
and bodies cut together of white muslin. The fronts and 
backs are the same shape, and are then sewed together and 
stuffed with bran. The arms and legs are made, and sewed 
to the bodies. The faces are painted on lawn in water-colors 
and sewed over pink muslin. The girl doll has a frock and 
flaring bonnet of- pink gingham. 

Oil colors are used on the faces of the baby, the sailor- 
boy and the little girl in the plaid bonnet. Bronze shoes 
and black stockings are used on these dolls. The sailor- 
boy doll's suit is made of blue linen, the other of figured lawn 
and cambric. The baby doll has a dress and sunbonnet of 
white cambric. 

A tiny set of dolls' furniture, similar to No. i, may be 
made at a cost of fifteen cents. The materials required are 
five small corks, two large ones, two rows of pins, and less 
than half a skein of two-ply Saxony wool, brown in color. 

Cut the tops of the corks the depth desired for the small 
chairs, and twice the depth for the easy-chairs. Crochet 
the covers. Put the pins in slanting for the legs, and form 




NO.2, 




NO. 3 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



159 



the backs of the small chairs, easy-chairs and sofa of pins. 
When the pins are in position wind the Saxony wool in and 
out to form the backs of the furniture, and around the legs 
as shown in the illustration. 

An oblong piece cut from one of the large corks, with a 
crocheted cover, forms the body of the sofa. 

The tidies on the easy-chair and small chair are cro- 
cheted, and the sofa pillow is made from two small squares 





NO 3 





A 


^ 


c 


1 


1 


3 


4 


5\C 


7 J8 


9 j io 


If ! 12, 

i 


13 


7*1 


4 s 


F " 



■ V ! ; : J> 

^-£ n ! OOP 



?! 53 




of red silk. The table is made in the same way as the chair, 
using a large cork. 

The mat is made from net, run with zephyr. 

This pretty set of dolls' furniture, No. 2, which is made 
of broom sedge in its green stage, can be made for ninety- 
eight cents. It is painted with white enamel paint and held 
together with pins. The sedge must be accurately meas- 
ured. The materials required for it are: Pins, five cents; 
enamel, ten cents; toilet set, five cents; gilding, ten cents; 
mirror, five cents; broom sedge, five cents; a quarter of a 



160 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

yard of silk, thirteen cents; one yard of No. 2 ribbon, five 
cents; two yards of baby ribbon, two cents; one ounce of 
single zephyr, five cents; three yards of lace, fifteen cents; 
cambric, three cents ; organdy, five cents ; Swiss muslin, five 
cents ; lining, five cents. 

To make the paper farmhouse, illustration No. 3, take 
a square of wall paper nineteen inches by nineteen and lay 
it down with the colored side uppermost. Fold the two 
front corners to the back corners, and the front edge to 
the crease in the center; do the same with the back edge, 
making four oblongs. Fold the right corners over to the 
left corners; turn the right edge to meet the middle crease; 
fold the left edge to meet this crease, making a large square, 
with sixteen small squares as in diagram. The four squares 
on the front should be slit to meet the second row of squares, 
and the four squares on the back to meet the third row of 
squares. Fold the two center squares on the front edge and 
place one over the other to form a gable. The first and 
fourth squares on the front edge must then be folded in 
front of this gable. Fold the back edge in the same way to 
form a gable, and fold the first and fourth squares in front 
of the gable thus made. Paste the pieces forming the gables 
together; paste the front and rear pieces to the gables. Slip 
the roof of the front porth into place, before the front gable 
and the front of the cottage are pasted; then paste the porch 
roof and the fronts of the cottage together to the gable. 
The floor of the porch is pasted in position by folding down 
one edge in the same way. The railing and stairs are pasted 
in position by folding down a tiny edge on each, and pasting 
the edges down. The double doors and the windows are 
made by cutting a slit in the center of the front and two 
slits on the top and bottom at each side of the center slit, 
and folding the others back in place. The chimney is an 
oblong strip folded into four oblongs. One edge of this is 
turned down and pasted to the opposite edge, making a hol- 
low oblong. 




With Needle and Thread. 



162 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

The fence and the animals in the farmyard were also 
made from paper. 

All the pieces of dolls' furniture may be made by fold- 
ing a square of paper seven inches by seven into sixteen 
squares, and then folding it into the square box, or, by 
cutting off one strip, into the oblong box. 

FUN WITH SMOKE PICTURES. 

All the materials you will need for these pictures are 
a plain white porcelain platter and a coal oil lamp. The 
platter must be new; the surface of one that has been used 
is apt to be broken up by myriads of minute cracks, which, 
though invisible, are destructive to success in making the 
picture. The larger the platter is the more pleasing the 
results. Almost any style of lamp with a No. 2 burner 
will fill the requirements. 

To make a picture of a simple moonlight scene light 
the lamp and set it on a convenient elevation. It is well 
to have an assistant whose duty it shall be to elevate and 
lower the flame at your dictation. Turn the wick up to 
such a point that a curly cloud of smoke will issue from 
the flame, but will not escape into the room. Hold the plat- 
ter top-side down over the flame at such an elevation as 
will allow the dish to catch the smoke, moving the platter 
about so that it will take on an even coating, watching 
closely at the same time that the smoked surface does not 
become too dark. 

Turn the platter over and you will find that the clean 
dish, represented by Figure I, has taken on the appearance 
of Figure 2. Set it on a mantel or easel, and with a gloved 
finger wipe away the parts shown in Figure 3. The white 
glazed surface of the dish thus exposed will appear clean 
and bright. 

. Again, in the same manner as before, smoke over the 
entire surface. Lift the platter from the flame and you will 
find that the darker portions of Figure 3 have become deep- 




HALF FirusnEO 



.5 MO KING THE PLATTER 



F/NlSf+ED 




FlCr 4- 



FtCr 5" 



164 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

er in tone, while a cloudy effect has been thrown over the 
white portions. 

Then place the platter on the mantel or easel, wipe out 
those parts needed to show the moon and the detail of the 
reflections on the water, and as a finishing touch give a 
silver lining to the clouds. 

The final stroke consists of wiping away the fringe of 
smoke around the edge. 

When the platter has been smoked and mounted, a 
winter landscape may be produced by making a number of 
parallel lines, which later will resemble the spaces between 
the fence rails. The distant woods and foliage are out- 
lined, the door, windows and chimney of the house left in 
brown, while the remaining parts are cleaned away, leav- 
ing the white surface as shown in the illustration. Then 
apply the second coating of smoke. 

After wiping away a white space to represent the 
snow-covered roof, give a touch to the sky, which will show 
white smoke issuing from the chimney. Stick a few patches 
of snow about the windows, whiten the path leading to the 
gate, and, lastly, run a snow line along the tops of the rails 
and posts. 

If the assembled company insists on an extension of 
the program you may show, in silhouette, a maiden and her 
sweetheart enjoying a moonlight tete-a-tete. 

HOW TO MAKE PIN CUSHIONS. 

Get a piece of silk or ribbon, fancy design, about five 
inches long by three and a half or four inches wide. Also a 
piece of plain ribbon of a shade to harmonize, the same 
size. Then provide yourself with a piece of white flannel 
about ten by seven inches in size, half a yard of baby rib- 
bon to match the silk, a spool of sewing silk to match and 
a section of Bristol board the same size as the flannel. 

Cut the Bristol board in two pieces of the shape shown 
in the picture. Cover one with your figured silk; the other, 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 165 

with the plain silk, and baste the two pieces together. Then 
sew the edges together, over and over. 

Now, cut your flannel into two pieces the same shape 
as the cover. Cut a little short of the edge all the way 
around. 

Having placed them on the inside of the cover, bend 
the latter exactly on the centre line, making the ends come 
evenly together. Punch two holes through covers, flannel 
and all, and tie with a pretty bow of your baby ribbon. 

Provide yourself with a piece of figured silk or ribbon 
about eight by five inches in size; also plain silk or ribbon 
same length, but a trifle wider, and of a shade to match. 
Have a piece of cotton wadding a trifle shorter and narrow- 
er, half a yard of narrow ribbon to match the silk; also a 
spool of sewing silk to match. 

Lay the cotton wadding on the strip of plain silk, and 
baste it to the latter. Then turn the edges of the plain silk 
up over the wadding and baste securely. 

Having done this, baste the figured silk on the other 
side of the wadding. Turn in every rough place in the 
edges and see that the edges of the two pieces of silk meet 
evenly. Then sew them together, over and over, neatly; 
and after that attach your ribbon at its centre to the pin 
case. Fill the case with pretty pins, roll it up, tie the rib- 
bons around it in a dainty bow— and you will have finished a 
beautiful gift for some fortunate friend. 

HOW TO MAKE HOUSEWIVES. 

The foundation of this article may be a piece of heavy 
ribbon, six inches wide and twelve long, or a strip of linen 
of the same dimensions and lined with silk. Cut off three 
pieces of the ribbon or linen about three inches long and 
hem the raw edges. Sew these on the main piece, one below 
the other to form three pockets the width of the housewife. 
At the bottom fasten three or four strips of soft flannel, or 
like material to hold needles. The pockets are to be used 



166 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



for buttons, thimble, thread, etc. If it is to be hung up, 
hem the top of it to a point and attach a loop. If it is to be 
rolled up to go into a trunk, attach two narrow ribbons. 






I . , i 
'i.l 



1 I i 



- i ' 

- i i 



i i 



Pincushions. 



SPECTACLE WIPERS. 

Cut two round pieces of chamois two or three inches 
across. Bind them with bright colored ribbon and fasten 
the two pieces together with a bow of the same ribbon. 
The edges may be pinked if preferred. Print across the top 
with pen and ink, "I make all things clear/' 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 
JACOB'S LADDER. 



167 



To make the Jacob's Ladder, take a piece of paper, per- 
haps writing paper, about three times as long as it is wide. 
Fold one end very tightly, three or four folds, as in A ; roll 
the rest of the paper more loosely, as in B. Next cut into 
the roll all but the places marked x in C. This will be just 



2 






where the first tight folds are. Then bend down the two 
ends, as in D. Cut across the dotted lines marked x and 
you will have E. Now catch the handle, pull it up, and be- 
hold your ladder. A very large one is quite imposing and 
can be made of newspapers. 



A GOOD SEWING APRON. 

Cut out an apron in an ordinary way, about ten inches 
longer than is desired. Hem the bottom and turn up the 
extra length, stitching it to form three pockets. Lawn or 
silk make very fine aprons. The pockets may be embroid- 
ered in a design of flowers. 






SOAP-BUBBLE 



In giving a soap bubble party every 
effort should be made to provide appro- 
priate settings for the bubbles. The 
more elegant and beautiful the settings 
the more jewel-like the bubbles will ap- 
pear. They look perfectly exquisite on 
delicate glassware and against rich 
backgrounds. Avoid, as far as possible, 
the use of white tablecloths, white 
plates, etc., as these reduce the beauty 
of the bubbles to a minimum. The 
table or tables should be decorated 
tastefully though brilliantly, and a chair 
provided for each guest. In front of 
each chair should be placed a bowl of 
the soapy solution, some straws, a fun- 
nel, a tin cornucopia and other neces- 
saries for the evening. 

The chief bubble blower should oc- 
cupy a seat at the centre of the table 







Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



169 



with a program before her, while the other participants 
should follow her lead and do just as she does. In this 
way a lively competition is induced by the endeavors of 
each bubble blower to outdo the others. , 

The solution is made by rubbing pure white Castile 
soap into a bowl partly filled with water until a heavy 
lather has formed. Then remove every particle of lather, 
dip a clay pipe into the cleared solution and start to blow 
a bubble. If you can blow one six inches in diameter the 
solution is ready for the test; if it bursts before approach- 
ing that size add more soap to the water. Then the solu- 
tion should be tested as follows : Blow a bubble six inches 
in diameter so that it will hang suspended from the pipe, 
then dip your forefinger into the soapy water, upon with- 
drawing it try to push it through into the bubble; if you 
can thrust your finger through into the bubble without the 
latter' s bursting, the solution is in proper condition. If, 
on the contrary, the bubble breaks, the solution is not in 
proper condition, and more soap must be added to the 
water until a bubble can be made that will not break when 
this test is applied. 

Remove all little bubbles from the surface of the solu- 
tion before using it. 

Never stir up the solution after it is in condition. If 
you do little bubbles will form. 

Take plenty of time in performing the different tricks. 
Hurry is nearly always disastrous. 

Whenever convenient use pure spring water for the 
solution. 

Rub well the openings — inside and outside — of both 
pipes and funnels with soap before blowing bubbles from 
them. 

To make a flower inside of a bubble, pour the soapy 
solution into a plate or lacquer tray until the bottom is 
covered with liquid to the depth of one-eighth of an inch. 
In the center of the tray place a water-lily or other flower, 



170 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

and over this a tin funnel. Then start to gently blow 
through the funnel while you are slowly lifting it at the 
same time (see Figure i). Continue blowing until you 
make quite a large film, and then proceed to disengage the 
funnel after having first turned it at right angles, as shown 
in Figure 2. Besides flowers, spinning tops and other ob- 
jects may be sphered over in the same way. This trick is 
one which always mystifies and delights small children, as 
well as older ones. The illustration given shows how the 
flower appears after the bubble is blown over it. 

To make six bubbles inside of one another, dip the 
end of a straw in the soapy water and after resting the wet 
end upon an inverted plate or sheet of glass, which should 
have been previously wet with the solution, blow a bubble 
about six inches in diameter. Then dip the straw well into 
the solution again, thrust it through into the center of this 
first bubble and blow another. Continue in this manner 
until the bubbles have all been placed. Always be sure 
that the straw is thoroughly wet with solution for fully 
half its length before each bubble is blown. Ten and even 
twelve bubbles may be placed inside of one another with- 
out great difficulty — if the person who is blowing them 
has a steady hand and the solution is in proper condition. 
Of course, some practice is required before any of these 
results can be obtained. 

A little smoke bubble may be made to appear within 
a large transparent bubble by blowing a fair-sized bubble 
from a clay pipe or small funnel so that it will hang sus- 
pended. Then dip a straw into the soapy water, push the 
wet end of it through into the hanging bubble and blow 
very gently. Almost immediately a small bubble will fall 
from the straw, and as soon as this happens blow with 
slightly increased force, when the little bubble will whirl 
around inside of the larger bubble, as shown in the illus- 
tration. By blowing smoke through the straw a little 
smoke bubble may be made which will add a great deal to 
the effectiveness of this trick. 






"7 






In 

i 




FI&-.1 



FIG-.2. 



172 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

To make bubbles and noise, dip the end of an ordinary 
tin fish-horn well into the solution and blow gently until 
quite a large bubble has been formed. Then four or five 
loud blasts may be sounded on the horn without injuring 
the bubble in the least. This is a very funny trick which 
never fails to arouse roars of laughter. The tin horn might 
be given to the youngest child in the room after the trick 
is performed. 

To make a bubble rest upon a flower dip a dahlia or 
other stiff-petaled flower— an aster of a brilliant color, for 
instance — into the solution and then with a pipe or funnel 
blow a bubble upon the top of it. This is one of the 
simplest and prettiest of all the soap bubble tricks, although 
it appears the most difficult to those who are watching 
it being done. The illustration gives a good idea of this 
flower trick. 

To blow a pinwheel around inside of a bubble fasten 
a paper pinwheel to a short stick of wood, and attach this 
to the center of a dinner-plate with sealing-wax; then, 
after covering the bottom of the plate with solution, pro- 
ceed to place a bubble over the pinwheel as in the flower 
trick. As soon as the funnel is withdrawn quickly dip a 
straw into the soapy water, gently thrust it through the 
bubble and then blow upon the paper wheel, when it will 
rapidly revolve. 

WINDOW GARDENS. 

Vines and trailing plants are the best for window boxes, 
and only those which endure hardship with impunity are 
recommended. The variegated vinca, German ivy, cobsea 
scandens, lonicera reticulata aurea and variegated trailing 
arbutus will meet the requirements and should be planted 
thickly enough to entirely cover the front of the box. 

Of the common flowering and foliage plants these may 
be used: Fuchsias, geraniums, petunias, cupheas, ivy ger- 
anium, marguerite, blue ageratum, yellow and some of the 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements ITS 

fancy-leaved varieties of coleus. The common sweet alys- 
sitm and blue lobelias are very pretty, but last a shorter 
time. 

Persons who have a shaded veranda not much exposed 
to the wind can obtain beautiful effects by planting together 
rex begonia and ferns of the stronger growing kinds. Use 
medium-sized Boston ferns and nephrolepsis cordata and 
larger plants of the holly fern. For trailing ferns the vari- 
egated nepeta and asparagus sprengerii do well. 

The window box, carefully made, with plenty of holes 
bored in the bottom for good drainage, should be filled two- 
thirds full of soil when ready for planting. Set the plants 
deep enough so that their roots are well covered with 
earth. Any unevenness on the surface should be filled in 
with loose soil after the plants are set. Light soil, prefer- 
ably one that has been mixed thoroughly with well-rooted 
manure, is best for a window box. 

SEA SIDE TOYS. 

The materials used are such as may be procured almost 
anywhere and at any time, while the motive power for set- 
ting the toys in motion is sand. 

All that is necessary to insure an abundance of fun, 
especially upon rainy days, is to carefully study the direc- 
tions and illustrations which are here given. Unless other- 
wise specified make all fastenings with sealing-wax. 

To make an inclined railway similar to the one illus- 
trated below take a stout sheet of cardboard four feet long 
and a foot and a half wide, and bend the lower end five 
inches from the bottom at a steep angle. Rest on boxes, and 
fasten two strips of cardboard two feet long, and an inch 
and a half high to its upper end. These will guide the cars 
directly under the sand hole, and enable them to start on 
their downward journey straight. The sand box is nine 
inches wide and three inches above the incline, and is held 
in position by little sticks run through it. Directly under 




SAND-POWFR ENGINE 



.SAND- POWER BOAT 
AND POWER WHEEL 



Seaside Toys. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 175 

the sand holes cut large holes in the incline. Place spools 
on the front box supports, as shown in the illustration, and 
hold in position half an inch above the incline by thrusting 
pins through supports just under the spools. Make cars of 
half of a small pasteboard box. The wheels are pill-boxes, 
the back ones larger than the front, and are held on the axle 
by little gobs of sealing-wax placed on the axle at each side. 
The back of the car is set higher than the front. 

When the cars are finished tie a piece of thread to one 
of them, pass it around the spools — which should revolve 
easily — and then tie the other end of thread to the second 
car, so that when one car rests against the spool at the top 
the other one will be upon the steep angle at the bottom. 
When one car is filled with sand it rushes down, and draws 
up the empty car to the sand box. 

With the exception of the large wooden spool cylinder 
the sand-power engine illustrated is made of cardboard. 
The fly-wheel is six inches in diameter. The support for the 
walking beam is ten inches high, the walking beam 
nine inches and a half long, and the piston seven 
inches and a quarter long. The base upon which the 
engine rests is a shoe-box cover. The axle of the fly-wheel 
is a hatpin which runs through two upright cardboard sup- 
ports, each three inches and a half in height, placed three 
inches and a half apart. The pins for the different parts to 
work upon, after being set in position, are held in place by 
putting little gobs of sealing-wax on the pointed ends. Fas- 
ten to the axle between cardboard uprights four pieces of 
paper two inches by an inch and a quarter, and turned about 
a quarter of an inch from each end, so as to hold the falling 
sand (see illustration). 

Sand for running the engine may be placed in a baking 
powder can fastened to slender sticks so that the bottom of 
the can will rest about six inches above the base. When 
complete the sand should fall through a small hole in the 
can on to the paper flanges, just behind the fly-wheel. 



176 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

To make the seesaw which is illustrated take a strip 
of cardboard eighteen inches in length and two in width; 
and at three inches and a half from one end first cut a slit 
crosswise to within a quarter of an inch of each side, and 
then from each end of this cut upward an inch and a quar- 
ter. Bend the piece of cardboard downward, and at such 
an angle that sand will slide from it when the seesaw is low r - 
ered to the ground at that end. 

Paste strips of paper one inch in width at each end of 
the opening in the cardboard and bend backward at an an- 
gle, as shown in the illustration given below. Thrust a hat- 
pin through the exact centre of the cardboard seesaw, and 
allow this to rest in the two-notched cardboard supports, 
which should be five inches high, three inches apart, and 
fastened to a square of cardboard. 

Make cardboard figures — one slightly heavier than the 
other — and attach these to the seesaw with sealing-wax, 
taking care to place the heavier figure at the farthest end 
from the sand box, so that this end will immediately fall 
when sand spills from the bent strip of cardboard at the 
other end. 

The sand box may be placed upon a pile of books, as 
shown in the accompanying illustration, or upon a pile of 
wooden blocks, of sufficient height to allow the seesaw full 
swing. If properly arranged the sand should fall on the 
middle of the bent strip of cardboard when that end of the 
seesaw is up, and slide immediately from it when down. 

The sand-power boat illustrated is made of wood, and 
is fourteen inches long, five inches wide and one inch deep, 
and hollowed out. At four inches from the stern cut a hole 
through the boat three inches and a half wide and two 
inches long, and around this fasten a cardboard strip one 
inch wide. To the back of this strip fasten another piece 
an inch and three-quarters long, with a notch cut in the top 
of it for the shaft to rest in. 

The power wheel is of cardboard two inches and a half 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 1^ 

in diameter, with six pieces of paper one inch by one inch 
and a half, bent over at the end, fastened to it. Fasten this 
wheel to the head of a hatpin. Place a piece of straw two 
inches long in a hole through the stern; pass the hatpin 
through it, resting the head of it in the notched cardboard. 
The propeller blades are two triangular pieces of thin wood 
one inch by one inch and a half, and fastened to the point 
of the shaft. The sand box of pasteboard is fastened to 
two light uprights of wood, so that sand will fall on the pa- 
per flanges. 

MAKING SCRAP BOOKS. 

The very best kind of scrap book for the nursery is one 
made of linen, colored cambric or muslin. Cut four pieces, 
twenty-four inches by twelve inches, and button hole stitch 
the edges. Then stitch down the middle, fold over and 
stitch again, along the folded edges, to make the book stay 
shut. The edges may be scalloped instead of button-holed. 
Advertisements may be cut from newspapers and maga- 
zines and by combining them make very funny pictures. 

Another kind of scrap book can be made from a blank 
book which has all of the leaves cut across, about a third 
of the way down. Cut from picture cards or old books, fig- 
ures of men, women or boys and girls and cutting off the 
heads, paste the bodies on the larger part of the pages, and 
heads on the smaller part, so they just fit together. By only 
turning part of the pages either the upper or lower at a 
time each body can be made to fit a different head. But you 
must be careful to. paste the pictures so that any head will 
join any body. A linen book can be made the same way. 

Make the paste by mixing one-half cup of flour with 
cold water to make a smooth, thin batter. Stir continually. 
Remove from the fire as soon as it boils and add three drops 
of oil of cloves. 





PASTIMES 

AND t^^ 8 *^^}^^' 

AMUSEMENTS^^ 

FOR BOYS 



ATTIC GYMNASIUM. 

The spare room next to the roof — the attic — is just 
the place to furnish for a gymnasium in one's own home, 
and a gymnasium is just the place for restless boys to enjoy 
themselves during rainy weather when they are compelled 
to stay in the house. 

The well-known parallel bars, as shown in the illustra- 
tion at the top of this page, offer free vent for the restless 
energy of a boy, and at the same time are not difficult to 
construct. 

The bars may be made of straight-grained pine strong 
enough to support a boy in full swing. These bars may be 
supported by two uprights toe-nailed to the rafters over- 
head and the floor, or, as shown in the illustration, be 
steadied by braces. 

Figure I shows how to gauge the distance between the 
bars by experimenting with chairs. The bars must be close 
enough together to make it a simple task for a boy to lift 
his body and feet, and must be high and long enough to 
avoid all danger of striking either his feet or his limbs when 
in full swing. 

The boys may build their own platform in the attic 
by making a frame of two-by-four lumber, as in Figure 2, 
and nailing it securely to the rafters overhead. It is then a 




F.'Cr 1 




F«G 2 




simple matter to make a platform of light lum- 
ber from which to suspend the ball by a line run 
through a hole in the center of the platform 
and made fast to one of the two-by-fours. 

Common-sense will teach a boy how to 
make the platform large enough to allow the 
ball full .swing in every direction when it is 
batted up against the boards overhead. 

One of the most useful, as well as one of 
the most simple, machines is the chinning bar, 
shown in Figure 3, which may be made by 
nailing to the rafters overhead two two-by- 
fours, through the lower ends of which holes 
have been bored for the crossbar. 

In every gymnasium there are numerous 
weights to be lifted by lines and pulleys, and 
these all make the best of exercising machines, 
because the weights are light and may be so 
arranged as to bring the body into all sorts of 
poses and exercise the muscles. Substitutes 
for the more or less expensive fittings for these 
weight machines can be found in almost any 
hardware store. Pulleys as shown (K and 
L, Figure 4) cost but ten cents apiece and an- 
swer very well. 






180 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Nail a board against the wall and let the top end of 
the board be about even with the top of your shoulders. 
Fasten a block of wood to the top of the board, as in Fig- 
ure 4, and with screws attach the K pulley to the block, as 
in the illustration. 

Make your weight of a canvas bag filled with pebbles 
or shot, and use a wooden block for a top to which another 
K pulley is attached .(Figure 4), or make a box (N, Figure 
4), inclosing a brick, and fasten a K pulley to the top. From 
a screw-eye under the block, at the top of the board, run 
a piece of window-sash cord through the K pulley on the 
weight, up to and through the K pulley at the top of the 
board, and thence to a wooden handle, as in Figure 4. 

Set two of these machines against the wall and you 
will have a handle for each hand. You may then go through 
a variety of motions which lift and lower the weights. 

A greater variety of body motions can be had by tak- 
ing Figure 4, and in place of ending the line with a handle 
continue it up to a pulley at P (Figure 5), thence to one 
overhead at Q (Figure 5), and thence down to a ring which 
supports R (Figure 5). 

Still another machine may be made with the weights 
•and pulleys called the wrist bar (Figure 6). 

In this case the line from the weights runs through 
a wooden bar, and by grasping the bar with your hands 
and turning it so as to wind up the string you will test and 
strengthen the wrist muscles. 

The wrist bar may be made of the form of an open tel- 
escope — that is, of various thicknesses, and in this way 
without changing the weights you can make it easier or 
harder to wind, according to the diameter of the part you 
grasp. 

Many other implements, such as light dumb-bells and 
Indian clubs, may be hung along the wall between nails 
driven at the required distances apart. 

Dumb-bells and clubs are weights to be moved and 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 181 

lifted to exercise the muscles of the arms. They are made 
of convenient form for use in gymnastics ; but any weight 
of any shape, when handled, will exercise the muscles. If 
you only pretend to have dumb-bells in your hands and go 
through the motions, it will answer the purpose much bet- 
ter than the lifting of too. heavy iron bells. 

Great possibilities for skill and muscles are offered by 
light wooden chairs, and many pretty motions may be dis- 
covered by grasping a light chair by the back or the rungs, 
lifting it from the floor and experimenting to see how many 
evolutions are possible. 

The smooth bare floor offers an opportunity for a boy 
to practice walking on his hands — an act which requires 
considerable skill. 

An old mattress is a useful thing in a gymnasium, and 
will often prevent black and blue spots on the young ath- 
lete's body by giving him a soft substance to fall upon. 

BACK- YARD FISH POND. 

A shallow pond with a broad surface exposed to the 
air will support in health many more inhabitants than a 
deep hole with small exposed surface. Remember that it 
is easier to keep a fish alive in a shallow basin than it is 
in a bottle holding exactly the same amount of water. 

By sinking a wooden tank in the ground and filling it 
with water a pond may be made. But any old box will not 
answer, for, unless you are a pretty good mechanic, you will 
not be able to prevent an ordinary box from leaking. 

However, if you really want a back-yard fish pond, 
you may make a box or tank which will hold water, and 
the best form for such a tank is that of a wide, flat-bottomed 
scow. This scow may be of any dimensions you choose to 
build it, but I would advise you to make your first one not 
more than six feet long by four feet wide, and two feet 
deep. 

In selecting lumber for the scow, pick out pieces which 




FIG-. 3 



A Back Yard Fish Pond. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 183 

are comparatively free from knots and blemishes. Reserve 
two one-and-a-half-inch planks, and keep the half-inch 
boards for the bottom. 

Trim of! your two side boards to exactly the same 
length — say six feet; they should then be six feet by two 
feet. On the edge which is to be the bottom measure 
toward the centre from each end of each board two feet, 
and mark the points ; then rule a line diagonally from each 
of these points to the corners of the boards on the upper 
edge; this will mark out a sort of double-ended sled run- 
ner, as shown in the illustration, and when you saw off the 
triangular pieces marked on the boards you will have two 
runners. 

Set these runners side to side on their long edges and 
round off the angles with your plane, until the boards look 
like rockers (see Figure i). The side boards must be exact 
duplicates of each other (Figure 2). 

Set the two side pieces four feet apart and. nail two or 
three temporary cross-pieces across their top edges to hold 
them in position; then turn them over and nail on the bot- 
tom boards (Figure 2). 

You must use the greatest care in fitting the bottom 
boards edge to edge, but you need not trouble yourself about 
the ends of the boards; allow them to project upon each 
side as chance may direct. After the boards are all secure- 
ly nailed to the bottom the ends may be sawed off flush with 
the sides of the scow (Figure 3). 

To prevent the wood from decay it is well to melt some 
tar over a fire, and, with a small mop made of rags tied to 
the end of a stick, paint the bottom of the scow with hot 
tar, being careful to see that all the cracks and crevices 
are thoroughly filled. 

In the shadiest spot you can find in the back yard dig 
a hole for your tank. Make the bottom level. Set your 
tank in place and pack the earth well around the edges. 
Cover the bottom of the pond with about one inch depth 



184 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

of sand, and the surface of the sand with a coating of 
gravel; then carefully fill the tank, without disturbing the 
sand, and allow the water to settle; after which a few 
aquatic plants may be introduced and a wire fence built 
around the pond to keep out intruders of the two-footed 
and four-footed kind. If you have a few frogs and turtles 
the mesh of the wire in the fence must be small. 

After the water has stood for three or four days and the 
aquatic plants have started to grow in their new quarters, 
you can stock the pond with sunfish, rock bass, dace, small 
catfish, crawfish, carp and goldfish. 

The inclined ends of the scow-shaped tank give two 
sloping shores, which will be appreciated by the crawfish, 
turtles and frogs; and if you build a little rockery in the 
centre the more timid fish will thank you for your thought- 
fulness in providing them a safe retreat. 

If you are so situated that you cannot go fishing your- 
self, the aquarium stores in the big cities will supply you 
with almost any sort of aquatic creature. 

Fresh-water clams or mussels will live in confinement, 
and a few make an interesting addition to a collection. 
Water snails act as scavengers for the under-water set- 
tlement, and a handful of them may be added to form a sort 
of street cleaning department. Caddice worms and the 
little fresh-water shrimp which you find among the water 
plants make excellent food for your fish. 

Avoid salt-water sand, stones and shells, for the salts 
they contain are injurious to fresh-water creatures. Do 
not change the water in the tank after it is in running 
order. 





FIO.l 




FIG.2 




BOY'S CLUB-HOUSE 



ON THE WATER 

In selecting a site for the club 
house, choose a bar or shallow place 
in some small lake or pond. 

Not only is the foundation of the 
club house submerged, but it must be 
built under water, and every foot of 
water adds to the difficulties. The fol- 
lowing plans are made for foundations 
to be laid in water not much over waist 
deep; but for the convenience of the 
draughtsman the bottom in the dia- 
grams is supposed to be level. 

Should you be so fortunate as to 
be able to locate your house over a soft 
bottom, make the corner piers by driv- 
ing a number of stakes in a circle (Fig- 
ure i), over which slip a barrel (Figure 
2) which has previously had both its 




FlQr.5 



FIG. 3 



Fl<*4 





Fl<j.6 <* JE3, 

FI6.7 



186 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

heads removed. If you have no barrels a box similarly- 
treated will answer the purpose, and in case you have no 
boxes, cribs made in the form of boxes open at the top and 
bottom may be used. Should you be ambitious to build in 
true "Robinson Crusoe" style, drive a number of long 
stakes securely in the form of a circle in the bottom of the 
pond, as in Figure i, and then with grapevines and other 
creepers weave a basket (Figure 3). 

All kinds of vines and creepers are good for basket- 
work, and almost any sort of stakes will answer. 

Where vines are scarce almost any sort of green 
branches may be made to answer the purpose, willow being 
especially adapted for basket-work; but all the larger 
branches should be split in half to make them pliable enough 
to bend without breaking. You may now weave a basket 
by passing the vine alternately inside and outside of the 
stakes in the circle (Figure 3), and when the end of the first 
piece in hand is reached you must duck your head under 
water and push the vine to the bottom of the stakes. Be- 
ginning where the last piece ended, weave a second piece of 
vine and push it down to the bottom, and so on until the 
top of the water is reached. It is great fun to make these 
cribs, and not at all difficult work, and when they are done 
and filled with cobblestones they make fine piers for either 
club houses or artificial island. 

The foundation posts of the club house should be four 
or five inches in diameter, and sharpened at their lower ends, 
but even then you will probably find that the united strength 
of several boys is not sufficient to force them far enough 
into the bottom to prevent swaying. Drive your founda- 
tion posts in the middle of the basket crib and then fill the 
crib with stones. When the cribs are full, as the barrels 
are in Figure 4, they will form durable stone piers. Four 
such piers will support a house big enough for from two to 
four boys. In this case the foundation posts should be long 
enough to form the four corners of the house. To make the 



Games, Pastimes arid Amusements 187 

posts steady, nail two diagonal binders on the posts from 
corner to corner, crossing them in the centre. 

Let these diagonals be just above the water, and above 
these, and out of reach of waves, nail four more binders in 
the form of a square, as A, B, C, D, in Figure 4, are arranged. 
These form the support for the floor, and four more at the 
top of the corner or foundation poles will make a support 
for the roof. The rest of the work is simple ; it is only nec- 
essary to lay a floor, put on a roof, and to board up the sides 
to have as snug a cabin as boys need want in summer time. 
By using more piers you can make a foundation of any 
size. 

When the bottom of the pond is hard sand, or stones, 
the basket cribs may be built on shore in the same manner 
as described, but in this case it is neither necessary nor ad- 
visable to drive the stakes far into the earth. When finished 
the crib will hold together and may be removed from the 
land, without dislocating the stakes, as the vines will hold 
them tightly in the structure. 

Through hard sand or stones you cannot possibly force 
your corner posts into the soil, and you must, therefore, be 
content to rest their lower ends upon the bottom, in which 
case make a stand for them by spiking two short boards in 
the form of a cross on the lower end of the posts; then slip 
your cribs over the posts (Figure 5). While two boys hold 
the post and crib in place the others can fill the crib with 
cobblestones, which will steady the post until it is made en- 
tirely secure by diagonal braces and the four binders, A, 
B, C, D. No matter how uneyen the ends of the posts may 
be at first, the top of the binders, A, B, C, D, must be exactly 
level. 

The water when calm is always level, and if you meas- 
ure three feet from its surface, and mark the point on each 
post, you can make the binders exactly level by nailing them 
with their top edge exactly even with the three-foot mark 



188 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

on the corner posts. The posts may now be sawed off even 
with the binders (Figure 4) and the floor laid. 

In a large building four extra binders nailed to the top 
of the crib (E, F, G, H, Figure 4) will give finish to the 
structure, especially if they are floored over to the edge of 
the top floor, thus making a step at the surface or under 
the water. Stairs may be built as shown in Figure 4. On 
hard bottoms they are anchored at the lower end by a large 
stone placed upon a board, which joins the lower ends of 
the side boards; but on soft bottoms the stairs may be nailed 
to two stakes which are afterward driven into the mud. 
Figure 6 shows the platform finished and a skeleton house 
erected. To build this house place the two two-inch by four- 
inch strips, J, N and M, Q, on the platform at the required 
distance apart, and "toe-nail" them in place — driving the 
nails slantingly from the sides into the floor (Figure 7). 

Temporary diagonal braces may be used here until you 
have your skeleton house far enough advanced to fit in some 
horizontal cross-pieces between the uprights, and to "toe- 
nail" them in place. Put in two sets of braces in each side, 
one above and one below the window openings, and in the 
front frame, J, K, L, M, one over the proposed doorway, 
and two more in the rear frame, N, O, P, Q, the latter ex- 
tending from the upright, N, O, to the upright, P, Q, and 
parallel to N, Q, as explained by Figure 8. When these 
braces are in place your frame will be stiff enough to nail 
on the sidings of slabs, boards or poles, and after they are 
in position the roof may be put on with no fear of the struct- 
ure's falling. 

HOW TO MAKE BIRD HOUSES. 

The bird lover may easily induce the birds to come 
about the house, for they readily respond to friendly ad- 
vances. In spring and summer the attractions to be offered, 
in addition to protection, are a never-failing supply of wa- 
ter, and conveniences for nesting. No food should be pro- 




A THATCHED BARREL 



FROM FABTHENWARBPPT5 



190 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

vided from the house, for their natural supplies — insects 
and various seeds — are everywhere plentiful. 

First arrange a place for drinking and bathing. A 
shallow dish (earthen preferred) with never more than two 
or two and a half inches of fresh water, renewed at regular 
intervals during the day, is the greatest of all drawing 
cards for the feathered world. 

For nesting places nothing is better for small birds 
than a tangle of bushes against a tight fence — blackberry 
and raspberry, for example, very close and thick. A wild 
corner where grass and weeds are allowed to grow, and 
the lawn-mower is unknown; trees, with boxes of different 
sizes and kinds nailed up among the branches, some with 
entrance barely an inch in diameter, to keep out English 
sparrows and admit wrens, are also desirable. Nesting 
boxes may be of various kinds, from a section of a hol- 
low branch with a roof over the top, to a tin can with 
jagged edges removed. 

There is an army of interesting birds called creepers, 
sapsuckers and woodpeckers, which no one has apparently 
thought of providing with homes, yet it is not difficult to 
suit the woodpeckers with houses. 

A substitute for their favorite rotten tree or stump 
may be made of a sound piece of timber. The log may be 
rounded as in nature (Figure i), or squared. Saw off the 
bottom so that the log may set upright, then trim off the 
top end wedge-shaped to shed the rain or to receive a roof, 
which will still further protect it from the weather. 

Next saw a deep cut as shown by the dotted line, A B. 
With a large-sized auger bore a number of holes in the face 
of the log; these holes must be bored deep enough to leave 
a slight indentation in the main part of the log after the 
piece A, B, C, D has been removed. 

After the holes are bored begin at C, D and saw to A, 
B (Figure i), and lift off the piece A, B, C, D (Figure 3). 

With chisel and gouge cut out the nest holes. Make 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 191 

them about -eight inches deep, as shown in Figure 2. Fig- 
ure 5 gives a cross section of the hole, showing it to be 
of the same form as those made by the birds themselves in 
the old stump in the woods. 

The perforated door may now be replaced and spiked 
to the log, and the roof (Figure 4) nailed on the top, which 
will complete the woodpecker's home. 

A better plan than spiking the door in place is to hang 
it on hinges, as shown in Figure 4. The hinged door should 
be supplied with a padlock as a safeguard against children 
and too curious grown people. A handful of sawdust 
thrown into the bottom, of each nest hole will supply the 
place of the absorbent rotten wood to which these birds 
are accustomed. 

It is claimed that the English sparrow will not nest in 
a swinging or moving house; if this is true we may bring 
the martins back by supplying them with swinging houses 
made of "dipper" and bottle gourds hung to brackets or 
hoops and poles. 

The gourds for birds' houses must be thoroughly dried, 
and doorways cut in each near the bottom of the bowl. 
Never make the entrance to any sort of a bird house on a 
line with the bottom of the house, for the nest will block 
the doorway. 

Paint the gourds bright red, green, blue and yellow, 
and fasten the small ends to the supports with copper wire, 
as shown in Figures 6 and 7. 

The wren house shown in Figure 8 is made of a grape- 
basket and will not stand rough' weather, but if put in a 
sheltered place it will last a long time. Wrens love to 
build under a roof of any sort. 

Figure 9 is an old fruit-can. Figure 10 is the same 
nailed to a board. These tin cans may not appear beauti- 
ful when nailed to tree or shed, but if neatly painted and 
wired together (Figure 11) they will present a most attract- 
ive appearance. Figure 12 is a nest of cans roofed. If a 



192 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

bunch of straw is bound firmly together, and the opposite 
ends spread over the bird house, it will make a very at- 
tractive thatched roof. A pretty and durable house may be 
made by binding straw around hoops and roofing the struct- 
ure thus made with a bunch of straw. 

Figures 13, 14 and 15 explain the structure of a barrel 
for a martin house, w T hich, when neatly made and thatched 
with straw, is decidedly ornamental, and will be duly appre- 
ciated by your bird friends. 

If we can keep the English sparrows away the blue- 
birds will nest in any sort of a sheltered hole. 

Earthenware flower pots, as shown in Figure 16, may 
be used for bird houses if you enlarge the holes in their bot- 
toms to serve as doorways and inclose the upper parts be- 
tween two boards (Figures 17 and 18), which have previ- 
ously had places cut out to receive the pots. If any of your 
shade or fruit trees have old knotholes in them (Figure 19), 
the rotten wood can be cleaned out, a frame nailed around 
the opening, and a neat little door (Figure 20) put on the 
frame. The door should have a hole through it with a 
perch or stick attached, and this will make an ideal bird 
house. 

An available supply of moist clay will often induce the 
cliff swallows to plant a colony in your neighborhood, and 
holes made in the gable ends of your stable will invite the 
social barn swallow to build under the protecting roof. 

There is another little native American friend which 
the noisy sparrows ar6 doing their best to drive away. This 
is the house wren, as interesting and busy a little mite as 
ever protected a garden from noxious insects. If you make 
your wren-house door the size of a silver quarter of a dol- 
lar no robber sparrow can enter to despoil the nest. 

Of our seven common species of swallows four are 
availing themselves of the opportunity offered by the farms 
for nesting. 

Barn swallows build under roofs ; cliff swallows, under 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 193 

eaves ; the white-bellied swallow and martin in boxes set up 
for that purpose when these shelters are not pre-empted 
by the English sparrows. 

The native swallows destroy an amount of noxious in- 
sects beyond calculation and almost beyond imagination. 
Without birds this world would, because of insects, be un- 
inhabitable. 

The species one may expect to see depends upon the 
locality and the season. In New England I should look in 
winter for nut-hatches, chickadees, a woodpecker or two, 
cross-bills, pine grosbeaks and some sparrows; in South- 
ern New York and about that latitude, at the same sea- 
son, one might expect to find the above, excepting the pine 
grosbeaks, and in addition, goldfinches and kinglets; a lit- 
tle farther south the chickadees and nut-hatches might 
be wanting, and the party be increased by bluebirds, robins 
and blue jays. 

It will be found that their ways differ as much as the 
ways of people; that they are individual, each having his 
own likes and dislikes, his own attitudes and movements, 
his own songs, calls and other utterances. That is what 
makes the study of birds an ever-fresh delight. There is 
always something new to see and something new to learn. 

In winter the attractions to be provided are somewhat 
different, being shelter and food, in addition to water and 
protection. Shelter from storm and cold is best secured 
by a close-set clump of thick-growing evergreen trees, such 
as spruce and cedar, if possible shielded from north winds 
by a building, wall or tight fence. 

To attract by food means daily attention through the 
season when food is scarce or absent. The first thing to 
do is to fix upon a place for the daily breakfast-table. It- 
may be a piazza roof, a board or boxes fastened up in low 
trees. A box lacking only the cover may be fastened in a 
tree on its side with the open side toward the window, thus 
forming a protection from wind and snow. 




HOOPS AND LATHS 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 195 

Not only should the place remain the same, but the 
hour should be regular, and soon the feathered guests will 
begin to assemble before the time, in expectation of their 
breakfast. In the selected spot should be placed various 
sorts of food. These may be table scraps of meat and veg- 
etables chopped fine, bread and fruit, or several kinds of 
grain, such as corn (broken up for small birds), wheat, 
barley and some seeds, as hemp, squash and pumpkin, of 
which some birds are very fond. Bread crumbs alone will 
attract very few visitors. Above all, and welcome to all, 
whether seed or meat eaters, is suet, chopped fine or 
fastened securely, so that it may be pecked at but not dis- 
placed. The worse the storm of wind or snow, the more 
bountiful should be the provision for the little family, lest 
hunger be added to their unavoidable suffering. This 
course, faithfully followed, will, in almost any region in 
the Northern States, keep about one a delightful group all 
winter. 

No one should establish friendly relations with the 
feathered tribe during the months when their natural food 
is scarce, unless he is prepared to be faithful. Having 
taught them to depend upon one for food and shelter, it 
is far more than cruel to fail them. 

It is well to accustom the birds to one's presence at 
the window. In the early days, by sitting perfectly still, 
and then gradually moving about, without violent mo- 
tions, perhaps talking to them, but never making an at- 
tempt to touch one, they will learn not to be afraid. A 
pleasant thing is to teach them to come at a call, adopt- 
ing some peculiar whistle, and always uttering it as a sort 
of "breakfast is served." When they have learned this 
they will sometimes come at unusual hours, but to make 
it effective they should always find some treat prepared 
for them. If greater familiarity be desired one may offer 
some special tidbit from the hand. 



196 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 
AN ICE SLED. 



First get an old box and cut part of the front sides 
out, that is, part of each side toward the front, leaving the 
front end, D, for a dashboard. 

This will make the box, when you add a seat back, 
something like the body of a carriage. 

This you now screw down on your sled as in Figure 
CII, and then you're ready for the "pushers" or handles, 
H. 

These are made of broomsticks, into the lower ends 




HOW 5CREW ENDS 
ARE MADE 



of which are bored holes into which are screwed some 
good sized screws, which are afterwards filed down to 
a moderately sharp point. Figure CIII shows how the 
screw ends are fixed, S being the screw and H the broom- 
stick. Boring the hole in the end of the stick first is sim- 
ply to keep it from splitting when the screw is screwed in. 
Now when you get on the ice all you have to do is 
to sit squarely in place with your feet well braced, and 
then, by sticking the points into the ice or the hardened 
snow on the sidewalk, you can push yourself along at an 
astonishing speed. Be sure the points are solid in the 
ice before you push, though, or you'll have a laughable 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



197 



experience to say the least. With a little practice, one 
may keep up with a good skater and by dodging about, 
using the points to stop and start again with, one can 
give a good skater a merry chase. 

PUSH WAGON. 

After you have procured the wheels, get a good-sized 
soap box or a cracker box. 

Then along the bottom of the box, and sticking out 




Push Wagon. 



a foot and a half or two feet in front, nail an inch piece 
(A) about four inches wide. 

At the outer end of this board pivot your front axle 
so that when you sit on the box you can turn it with your 
feet. 

Now make a lever (H) and fasten it to a piece of 
2x2 (C) by a screw at b, letting the part below b be 
as long as it can be without dragging on the ground when 
the piece C is in place. 

Then nail C on, letting it stick out beyond the box 
far enough so that the handle lever (H) is a little beyond 



198 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

the end of the axle of the rear wheels, which you have 
fastened in position on the back of the box. 

A block (E) is now fastened to the back wheel spokes 
by wire staples or small brads bent over, and then this 
piece (E) and the lower end of H are connected by a con- 
necting rod (F); this being fastened at a and f to turn 
on screws. Thus, when the lever H is worked back and 
forth by the hand 'of the rider the back wheel will turn. 

If you want you can put one of these handles on each 
side of the box and double the power of your machine. 

Hooked to a following train of toy express wagons, 
this auto will make a first rate engine for playing "cars," 
and it's easy to make, too. 

A PADDLE WHEEL BOAT. 

Wood. — Any kind, yellow pine preferred. 

Sides of Boat (lower). — One strip 16 feet 4 inches 
long, 5 inches wide and % inch thick, cut in two lengths 
of 8 feet 2 inches each. 

Side (upper). — One strip 16 feet 4 inches long, 7 
inches wide and Ya, inich thick, cut in two lengths of 8 
feet 2 inches each. 

Ends. — One strip 5 feet long, 1 foot wide and ^4 m ch 
thick, cut in 2,y 2 foot lengths. 

Bottom. — Seventeen pieces 6 inches wide and 2j^ feet 
long. 

A couple boxes from the grocery store. 

Canvas. — Awning canvas will answer, as long as it 
keeps out water. 

Nails. — One pound sixpenny flat head, round wire. 

Tacks. — Four boxes four-ounce carpet tacks. 

Seat. — Use box or cushion. 

After the material is collected, proceed as follows: 

First nail the 8 foot 5 inch pieces of wood to the two 
end pieces, forming, when nailed together, an oblong. 
Then over the 5-inch strip nail the 7-inch strip to fill in the 





o 

7»N BOARD 



5 IN. BOARD 



8FT, 2/n LONG- 



FIG; 2. 




(> IN. BOARD 






Oj 



FICr.4 



o r 
o 

Q 



HGr.5" 



DLOCkS ON 

Dfcoon 
PADDLES, 




J3OTT0n 



A Paddle Wheel Boat. 



200 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

body of the boat. Then proceed with the bottom, nailing 
the 6-inch strips as close. together as possible, filling all the 
cracks with oakum or white lead, and using about one nail 
to an inch. Then tack canvas on bottom, using two strips 
4 inches wide and 8 feet 2 inches long, if possible, for two 
sides. Have two inch lap over side and two inches over 
bottom, and then two more strips of canvas 2j4 feet long, 4 
inches wide for ends. Tack on in same manner. The tacks 
should be as close together as possible, say one-quarter inch 
apart. Having thus finished the boat proper, paint the sides, 
ends and bottom. When dry bore a hole the width of a 
broom stick in each seven inch board near the center (Fig. 
1), also near the edge. This is for the paddle wheels and 
shaft. 

Paddle Wheels and Shaft. — Cut out of one of the boxes 
eight boards 1 foot long, 5 inches wide, four for each pad- 
dle. Then cut out eight blocks 5 inches long, 1 inch thick 
and w 7 idth of broomstick. Get two brooms, saw off handles 
and cut in lengths of 1 foot 6 inches ; then two more blocks 
3 inches wide, 6 inches long and 1 inch thick; one strip of 
board 2 feet 6 inches long, 3 inches wide and % of an 
inch thick; measure 1 inch on end of broomstick you cut 
off and nail the four blocks 5 inches long, 1 inch thick, on 
Fig. 2. Then nail on four paddles on each of these blocks 
(Fig. 3), and then your paddle is completed. Take the 
two blocks 3 inches wide, 6 inches long, and nail them 
edgewise, 1 foot 3 inches from the hole in the side of boat. 
Bore a hole the width of broomstick in the center of 
the 2 foot 6 inch board, and then, after slipping the pad- 
dle in the two holes, nail the board on side of boat 
(Fig. 4). Having the lower portion of paddle box 
completed, get four barrel hoops (two for each paddle box), 
and nail two of them on sides for the top of paddle box. 
Cover them on top and sides of paddle box with canvas. 

Crank. — Get a piece of broomstick and cut it to fit the 
space left between the right and left broomstick, on which 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



201 



paddles are nailed. Then make two arms 6 inches long, 
one for each side, and nail them on the paddle broomstick 
(Fig. 5). Then nail the piece of broomstick just cut to form 
handle on the other end of arm (Fig. 6). 

Rudder. — Make rudder about 1-5 foot 5 inches long 
and 6 inches wide. Nail on end piece of broomstick and 
then fasten rudder on back of boat. Steer the rudder with 
ropes. Of course, the boat would cost much less if you 
had all the material on hand you needed to build one with. 

Such a boat is a pretty safe one to handle and steers as 
well as any other kind and you can have pleasure in it. 



SNOW HOUSES. 

Where is the boy who has not built a snow fort and de- 
fended it against the howling mob of his playmates? 







It is easy to build a snow fort and anything else of 
snow if one only knows how, and with a few simple in- 
structions any boy can build these snow houses, and if 
watched occasionally after a thaw and patched, they will 
last all winter. 

The dome-shaped house is the kind usually built by 
the Eskimo from packed snow and blocks of ice. It is an 
easy house to make, and should be started about eight feet 
in diameter at the base. In the frozen North they do not 
use any braces, but in the United States, particularly in the 



202 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



middle section, where warm days thaw the snow, it would 
be best to drive stakes or bean poles in the ground, as shown 
in Fig. i. The snow forming the shell of the house is 
packed about and under the poles, shaping it as shown in 
Fig. 2, which is a section of one side, in which the pole can. 
be seen as its top pitches toward the center of the hut. 

At the front one pole is omitted, so as to allow for the 
doorway, and when the house is complete it would be well 
to make a small hole at the top for ventilation, as shown in 
the illustration of the Eskimo hut. 

Trim the outer surface of the hut so it will be uniform 




Snow Houses. 



in shape, and to make it last longer it would be well to 
pour water over it and let it freeze. If repaired after a 
thaw, this house can be made to last all winter. 

A square house with two rooms can be made with walls 
a foot thick, as shown in the illustration. 

A framework is constructed of scantling or light tim- 
bers and pieces of board, as shown in Fig. 3, using a clothes 
post as one corner, for a substantial support. Additional 
strips can be nailed in if desired, and they will strengthen 
the snow walls and prevent them from falling. 

The snow should be formed into cakes like large bricks, 
by packing it in a box, then dumping it out and laying one 
upon another, as bricks are laid to form a wall, but with 
broken joints, as shown in Fig. 4, and not with the joints 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 203 

one above another. Over the top of the framework some 
boards should be placed to support the cakes of snow form- 
ing the roof, or if desired the top can be left open. A win- 
dow opening can be left at both ends, and at the front a 
window and doorway are cut, while at the middle of the 
castle a wall may be constructed of the snow bricks, and 
an opening or doorway left to crawl through. 

In the Northern States and in Canada the boys put a 
door and windows in their good snowhouses, and with a 
small stove they sometimes camp out even in the winter 
time. 

In the central part of New York State last winter, 
eight boys constructed a snow house having several rooms; 
and many happy hours were spent after schooltime in and 
about this snow house, which was really an ice house, for 
it had been water soaked and frozen, and it lasted long after 
the snow had disappeared from the ground. 

A picket fence, a clothes-post or a tree is the best thing 
against which to attach the framework of a snow house, 
as it is substantially imbedded in the ground, but in the 
northern part of the States and in Canada, where it stays 
cold all winter, the framework is hardly necessary. Other 
forms of houses than these can be constructed, as circum- 
stances may dictate; but these instructions and features 
can be carried out to obtain some good results. 

A HOME MADE HAMMOCK. 

A fine hammock that can be left out in all kinds of 
weather may be made out of a barrel and twenty feet of 
strong rope. Remove the top and bottom hoops from the 
barrel, also all nails. Draw a pencil line around both ends 
of the barrel, three inches from the edges. Along these 
lines bore two holes in each end of the staves. Thread the 
rope along these holes, leaving it loose enough so that the 
staves will be an inch apart when the hammock is finished. 
Tie the ropes at the ends, knock off the remaining hoops. 



204 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Paint the hammock and it is finished. Cushions make it 
very comfortable. 

HOW TO MAKE A TELEPHONE. 

Take two round tin baking powder cans and remove 
the bottoms. Soak two pieces of strong paper (drawing 
paper is best) and place them smoothly over the end 01 
each can, fastening them by winding waxed cotton twine 
securely around them. When dry the paper should have 
no wrinkles. Paste a strip of paper over the twine, finish- 
ing the receiver neatly. For the wire, take a piece of 
waxed string, the necessary length, and thread through 
the paper ends of the cans, tying a knot on the ends to keep 
the string from pulling out. Let the knot rest on the inside 
surface of the paper. If the distance is not too great, the 
line may be stretched tightly without support. Otherwise 
fasten it at intervals by passing it through loops of twine, 
which can be nailed to trees or posts. Keep the course as 
nearly straight as possible. This telephone will work well 
for a distance of fifty yards, and will be found very con- 
venient and useful as well as amusing. 

HOW TO MAKE A SPRING RAFT. 

In the early spring time, when the snow and ice begin 
to melt and form ponds in shallow places and low ground, 
the boys are thinking of boats, rafts and other things with 
which to navigate these waterways caused by the spring 
freshets. 

It is not always easy to build a boat quickly, for it re- 
quires time to match joints and make them watertight, as 
well as to construct a safe boat that will hold several boys. 

And then, perhaps, a boat could not be used at any 
other time of the year excepting when the thawing ice and 
spring rains make artificial or temporary ponds and lakes. 

For that reason a raft is the best to make, for it is al- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



205 



ways possible to get some logs and long pieces of heavy 
timber and lash them together to form a float. 

In the drawing of a simple raft the arrangement of 




ASJMPte raft 



A3AIL\H& RAPT 





N 




«Jn3w 



fcKSr.I 



PIG.* PUk* 

How to Make a Spring Raft. 



Pl<i>. 3 



four large logs is shown, with three smaller but longer 
ones lashed fast on top of them. The large logs can be eight 
or ten feet long and a foot thick. The upper ones are six or 
eight inches in diameter and fifteen feet long. 



206 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Before lashing the logs together it would be well to 
cut laps in the top of the lower logs and the under side of 
the upper ones, as shown in Fig. I, and when they are 
brought together they will not roll and strain the lashings, 
as they would if left round. 

Clothesline, or rope about the same size, can be used 
for the binding, and the rope should be crossed at the top 
of the log joint, as shown in Fig. 2, but not at the bottom. 

The top of the long logs can be planked over with some 
boards nailed down securely with long steel wire nails, and 
with the addition of three or four long stout poles to push 
the raft along this crude boat will be ready for use. Care 
should be taken, however, not to overcrowd it, or down it 
will go. 

A larger and better raft is shown in the drawing of a 
sailing raft. 

The lower logs are fifteen or eighteen f.eet long and five 
cross logs are at least ten feet in length. 

They are lap cut, as shown in Fig. i, and securely 
bound with rope and long spikes. 

Across the top logs, and running parallel with the un- 
der logs, four joists are made fast with spikes, on which a 
deck of boards is nailed. 

At one end of this deck a step bench is made, in which 
a mast will be held. This is fifteen inches high, twenty-four 
inches long and ten inches wide, made as shown in Fig. 3. 
Two side angle boards are attached under the top board 
and bear against blocks fastened to the deck, so as to brace 
the bench. 

The mast is stepped through a hole cut in the top board 
of the bench and occupies the position shown by the dotted 
line in Fig. 3. Cut a square shoulder at the foot of the mast 
and let this drop down into a corresponding hole cut in 
one of the deck boards. 

A square sail can be rigged on this mast and a sprit 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 20 ? 

will hold the loose top corner, while along the foot the sail 
can be lashed to a beam and a single sheet rope will hold it. 

Of course, this sail will move the raft very slowly, but 
enough to feel it is going, and when you get to the end of 
the pond it will be necessary to pole the raft back again, 
for the sail will then be useless, as you cannot tack the same 
as you could in a boat. At the stern and across the two 
middle logs nail a stout piece of plank and to the middle of 
it attach a rudder made from two pieces of board held be- 
tween two uprights, to act as a rudder post. These are 
fastened together as shown in Fig. 4, and an opening near 
the top is formed by setting pieces of wood the thickness 
of the rudder blade boards between the two front strips and 
nailing them fast. 

A tiller can be cut from a piece of stick and the handle 
end planted at the edges to round them. 

When making log rafts for service in transporting the 
camp stores or lumber the St. Lawrence River men and 
others who are dependent on log rafts for transportation 
place the logs close together and bind them with ropes, as 
shown in Fig. 5 ; another tier of logs is lashed at right angles 
to the first lot, and so on until the raft is the desired height. 

Each layer is securely bound to the one below it, and 
doubly so at the corners, where the greatest racking strain 
is felt. 

This form of raft is really the most serviceable and 
while it takes more time and logs, it would pay a party of 
boys to make one in this manner, as it lasts longer and 
will hold a larger company of boys. 

A HOME AQUARIUM. 

Many people make the mistake of buying a globe in 
which to keep fish. This form of aquarium is not suitable 
for the purpose; it distorts every object placed in the water, 
and subjects a fish to a change of shape and size with every 
movement. A square or oblong tank is preferable. Any 



208 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

one wishing to build a tank should first decide upon the 
size ; then get five pieces of glass, which, when put together, 
will form a box of the required dimensions. Plate glass 
from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in thickness is strong 
enough for any tank. 

Measure the pane of glass to be used for the bottom, 
and obtain a piece of well-seasoned wood from one to two 
inches longer and wider than the measurement of glass, 
and about one inch and a half thick. Then buy ten cents' 
worth of white lead and a bottle of some good crockery 
mender to use as cement. An eighth of a yard of leather- 
ette is needed to bind the corners. You will need, also, a 
piece of fine wire to go around the tank, and ten cents' 
worth of asphaltum varnish. 

Build the tank in the following manner: Place the 
piece of glass which is to be used as the bottom in the centre 
of a board, and mark the exact size of glass on the board. 
Stand the sides upright, care being taken to hold them per- 
fectly still, and run the pencil closely around the outside 
of them; then with a rule carry the lines out to the edge of 
the board. Saw a groove between the lines about half an 
inch deep. Smear the under side of the bottom piece of 
glass with crockery cement and place in position on the 
board as shown in Figure i. 

Lay a heavy weight upon it for five minutes. During 
this process take enough white lead to fill the grooves and 
fasten the corners. Pour in a little crockery cement and mix 
thoroughly. Smear with pure crockery cement the edges 
of the glass already fixed to the board, gently, so as not to 
move it. Fill the grooves with the mixture of white lead 
and cement; smear the bottom and the two end edges of 
each side piece with crockery cement and press them into 
the grooves, as illustrated in Figure. I. 

Tie a piece of strong twine around the outside to keep 
the corners close together, and measure the depth of the 
tank on the inside and cut four strips of leatherette, an inch 




FIQ-.4- f=l<5;3 



SMALL 
BLAPPfftWOftT 



HITEOA 



A Home Aquarium. 



210 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

in width, the exact length. Crease them in the center, al- 
lowing the right side to face in. Give them a coating of 
white lead mixture, and place them in all of the corners. 
Figure 2 shows the glass sides in position. 

Cut four more strips about an inch longer. Crease 
with the right side out, then take off the twine, coat strips 
with lead mixture, and place them on the outside of the 
corners. Figure 3 shows the tape on inside corners. 

Cut a V-shaped piece in the upper end, and turn the 
ends over so as to end on the inside. Hold tightly in place. 
Figure 4 shows the tape on outside corners. 

Now wind a piece of fine wire about the outside and 
cover this with a strip of leatherette. Run along the seams 
at the bottom of the tank inside and outside with some of 
the white lead mixture, and allow it to dry for at least three 
days. Figure 5 shows the tank with all of the corners 
bound. 

After making sure that the white lead is thoroughly 
dry, clean the corner strips and glass. Next give the cor- 
ners, seams and board a coating of asphaltum varnish. 
This must be most carefully done, as white lead is poison-, 
ous to the fish. Figure 6 represents the tank when it is en- 
tirelv finished. 

It is always a good rule to fill the tank with water after 
it has been varnished, and let it stand over night, to remove 
any free particles of dust, etc. Plenty of work will be found 
to do while your tank is drying — collecting sand, building 
arches, and making a net with which to catch specimens of 
fish. 

A good net may be made by taking a piece of stout 
wire, forming a loop by twisting one end, running the other 
end into a stick, and sewing a piece of mosquito netting to 
the wire. The sand and pebbles for the aquarium may be 
collected from the bed of a stream. The arches may be 
built of any kind of rock and pebbles stuck together with 
cement. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 211 

Any plant which grows in streams or ponds, or upon 
their margin, is suitable for the aquarium. One of the most 
decorative is Mermaid weed. Tapegrass may be found in 
any slow-running stream. 

The little Bladderwort may be known by its cluster of 
yellow flowers. Willow moss is extremely useful. The 
Hornwort is decorative. Pond weed makes a resting place 
for the insects. Nitella may be found at the bottom of 
ponds. There are eight kinds of Sagittaria found in this 
country; of these Sagittaria Natans is the most satisfactory 
for the aquarium. 

When the tank is thoroughly clean and dry you may 
prepare the bed of your aquarium. The sand, thoroughly 
cleaned, should be distributed evenly upon the bottom of 
the tank to the depth of two inches or so. Over this strew 
a layer of pebbles, and place your arches and plants in posi- 
tion. If you find that the plants are insecure, a small 
quantity of clay should be fastened to their roots, besides 
weighting them with pebbles. Then pour in the water. 
Never use boiled water. While filling, place your left hand, 
palm up, near the sand, and pour the water gently over 
your palm, so that it will trickle down without disturbing 
the roots or washing up the sand. Keep your hand just 
above the water and gradually fill the tank to within two 
or three inches of the top. A piece of thin, smooth wood 
should now be used to disengage and float out in a natural 
way the foliage of the various plants. The water in the 
tank will evaporate according to the temperature; when it 
evaporates an inch add an equal amount of water. If right- 
ly stocked with animal and plant life it is seldom or never 
necessary to change the water. 

. Before putting in the fish, drop in a few common pond 
snails and tadpoles. These will consume the decaying veg- 
etation. 

As the tritons feed upon the minute parasitical insects 
that injure aquatic plants they are really useful in the aqua- 



212 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

rium. The frog is a relative of the triton, and, in a tadpole 
state, the two cannot easily be distinguished; as they grow, 
however, the difference is apparent. Among insects, the 
boatfly is worth having. You will find him in any stagnant 
pond. The margined beetle is also quite useful. 

The animals and fish should be fed at a certain hour 
every day with a few small pieces of cracker. Once a week 
a small piece of raw beef impaled on a straw should be 
given to each. If the beef is dropped into the water there 
is always the danger that one or more greedy fellows will 
seize it all. 

PLEASANT PLACES FOR SUMMER DAYS. 

In the arrangement for the shady seat at the tennis 
court rough cedar posts are planted firmly about eight, 
feet apart, three feet below and seven feet above ground, 
and a framework is built across at the top, and a double 
seat with back constructed between. The framework at 
the top should come forward four and a half feet from the 
end parts on each side, making the top nine feet wide over 
all. A series of hoops is carried along one foot apart, giv- 
ing a curved top. The brackets for this top and the arms 
and legs of the seat may be made from rough limbs with the 
bark left on. The same material is used for braces. If 
gnarled limbs can be obtained for these all the better, but 
the framework is of secondary importance as it will be cov- 
ered with vines by the middle of the summer. 

A more simple mode of construction would be to make 
the top flat. For this use straight pieces in place of the 
hoops. The effect will be less picturesque, but when cov- 
ered with vines it will make but little difference. If possible 
face the seats north and south, as more shade will be ob- 
tained from the ends when the sun is low in the afternoon. 

Often shade is needed at some special point on the 
lawn, and the illustration given of a summer-house with a 






ifflOOODOQOn 




^w. 



Pleasant Places for Summer Days. 



214 ^ Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

double-domed roof and two circular seats offers sugges- 
tions for that purpose. 

In the arrangement, for this summer-house six corner 
posts are planted. Of course, the size of these bowers must 
vary according to individual needs, but they must not rise 
too high above ground. They will be useless for shade if 
carried up more than eight feet. Center posts rise to a 
height of eleven feet, and long hoops are carried diagonally 
from corner to corner. These are firmly nailed to the cen- 
ter posts, on which they cross. Straight pieces are carried 
around horizontally from post to post; these are supported 
by brackets. The hoops may also be connected by light 
stuff. A seat is constructed around each center post, and 
a light railing runs around these sides. At the base the 
entrance is generally left free of adornment of any sort. 

Many vines which flower lovers would like to use are 
worthless for the purpose of shade. The Sweet Pea would 
be a general favorite if it grew to a sufficient height, but it 
does not. The Morning-glory and the Wild Cucumber are 
both desirable. The former will grow to a height of twen- 
ty feet in a season. The Wild Cucumber also has a rapid 
growth, and its flowers when seen in masses are very effect- 
ive; it is to summer plants what the native Clematis is to 
our perennial vines. Some of the ornamental Gourds are 
available for covering summer-houses, as their large leaves 
overlap and afford a dense shade, which is, of course, indis- 
pensable in a summer-house. The variegated Japan Hop 
will answer for the purpose of shade; it has a rapid growth 
and an attractive foliage. 

An illustration which needs little description is the one 
in which an old sketching umbrella frame is utilized for the 
canopy at the top of the center post, or constructed of a 
large wooden hoop supported on wire properly bent. A 
pot is set on or in the post on each side, and a ladder-like 
framework of light sticks connects them with the canopy. 
If desired, wooden boxes may be built in place of the pots. 



«- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 215 

In fact, it would doubtless be a wiser plan to use boxes as 
they may be nailed securely to the posts. The center post 
must be carried up to a height of seven feet so that it may 
be passed beneath without chance of brushing the hat of 
one's tallest guest. Paint in harmony with the house. 
Nothing will be so pretty or so attractive to plant about this 
gate as Nasturtiums. 

Very often the entrance to a house lacks a canopy or 
porch, in which case the arrangement shown in illustra- 
tions shows two light canopy frames, which, when covered 
with vines, will afford a grateful shade. A feature of one 
is. the shelf for potted plants. Brilliant Geraniums are es- 
pecially effective for the purpose, their glowing blossoms 
fairly burning against the dark green of the Grapevine's 
broad foliage. When constructing the simpler one bring 
the brackets down toward the base of the door-posts. The 
doorway may be flanked with Cacti or other plants of a 
decorative character. 

For planting a door having a canopy I would advise 
Celastrus scandens or Ampelopsis. The native Grape may 
also be used. All three of the above are attractive and 
nearly always prove satisfactory. 

TREE TOP CLUB HOUSES. 

Of course, the proper trees are necessary, and as no 
two trees are alike the boy will have to adapt his construc- 
tion to the enforced requirements of size and growth. 

A one-tree house can be built with little trouble if you 
have sawed lumber handy. It may also be built entirely 
from the wood cut in the forest, and such a house is the 
more picturesque and romantic of the two. 

In the illustrations the reader will see that both rough 
and sawed material are used. The A blocks (Figure i) 
are made from a good sound log about a foot or more in 
diameter and two feet long, which is quartered, making four 
A blocks. 



216 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Bore holes through the A blocks for the spikes, and 
spike one upon each side of the trunk (Figure 2) with good 
long spikes, using at least three spikes to each block, and 
being careful to have both the A blocks upon the same 
level. Make the B sticks of ash poles split in half, or of 
two by four sawed lumber, and notch them about a foot 
from the end, as shown in Figure 5. 

Upon the A block rest the centers of your B sticks and 
spike them to the tree (Figure 3). 

Rest two more B sticks across the first pair and at 
right angles to them, and nail this second pair securely to 
the tree (Figure 4). Now take the struts or braces which 
have been previously trimmed to fit the notches in the B 
sticks (Figure 5), and, one at a time, put them in place, 
nailing the lower beveled ends to the tree trunk. 

This gives you a foundation upon which you can lay 
as many more B sticks as is deemed necessary, and then 
floor with planks as in Figure 6. When the flooring is se- 
curely nailed in place you will have a good strong platform 
upon which it will be a very simple matter to erect a house. 

For simplicity's sake the platform in Figure 6 is en- 
tirely occupied by the house, but in building it takes very 
little more material to build a platform large enough to 
give space for a balcony all around. 

If you propose building a two-tree house like the one 
in the accompanying illustration, you had better build a 
good strong platform to begin with. This may be made 
of rough timber like the lower one in the illustration, or of 
sawed lumber, as the platform is built, upon which the two- 
tree house stands in the illustration. 

Take four A blocks and nail them on each side of the 
two trees and see that they are upon the same level (Figure 
7). Across the A blocks rest two good B sticks and nail 
them to the two trees as in the diagram. 

From sound two-inch planks saw out two corbel pieces 
of the form of D, Figure 7, and measuring about seven feet 




A THBEF-TREf FOUNDAT/0N(F/(V.8) 

Tree Top Club Houses. 



A TWO -TREE PLA 



N (FI&7) 



218 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

on the top edge. Then cut the four struts (E, Figure 7), 
and two king posts (C, Figure 7), and saw off the ends of 
the E pieces to fit the notches cut near the ends of the D 
pieces and in the sides of the C plank. 

Fit the frame together and with some long screws, one 
at each end of the struts, fasten them in place. The strain 
upon this frame is an up and down thrust, and it is only nec- 
essary to hold the frame together until it is hoisted up the 
tree and rested over the protruding ends of the B sticks. 
The C and D are then securely nailed to the tree trunk with 
the largest-sized wire nails. On top of the corbel D rest 
another corbel G, and spike it to the tree, supporting the 
ends with two long struts nailed to the tree. 

From G to G lay some two by fours upon their two- 
inch edges and nail them in place. Over this nail your 
flooring and you will have a platform strong enough to 
hold a brick house. Erect a railing around your platform 
and build your house between the trees as you would upon 
the ground. 

A three-tree house is built as a combination of a two- 
tree and a one-tree house. You may use the king post 
struts and corbels described for the two-tree house, or you 
may make the trees act as king posts and the B sticks as 
corbels, as shown by Figure 8. In all cases use struts wher- 
ever there appears the slightest tendency to weakness. 

If the location of your. proposed house is so high that 
your ladder will not reach the point, build a platform with- 
in reach, as in the picture of the two-tree house, and rest- 
ing your ladder on this platform the A blocks for the pro- 
posed edifice may be nailed in place at the second level, as 
shown. 

It is unnecessary to describe in detail a four-tree foun- 
dation, for the reason that if the trees are accommodating 
enough to grow at the four corners of a square the four 
corner posts of your house are the living trees, and a floor 
can be laid upon a foundation of A blocks and B sticks ar- 



?— 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 219 

ranged as they are in Figure 8 between the trees where the 
boy stands on the ladder nailing a B stick. With this ar- 
rangement between two pairs of trees the floor is easily laid. 

A MAGIC LANTERN. 

You boys and girls all know what a. magic lantern looks 
like, so you will be able to follow the directions for a home 
made one that will give you hours of fun to pay you for 
your trouble. 

This plan comes from the Scientific American origin- 
ally, but as described here is somewhat simplified so as 
to be practicable for you. 

Take an ordinary packing box made of wood, about 
the size of the box part of the usual magic lantern, a kero- 
sene oil lamp with an Argand burner (or a Welsbach 
burner and rubber tube for attachment to the nearest gas 
connection), a small fish globe and a burning magnifying 
glass (common double or plano-convex lens). 

Cut a round hole in one end of the box, large enough to 
admit a part of the globe (which you must suspend on the 
inside from the top of the box). Close behind the globe 
set the kerosene lamp. 

Next make a strong solution of common table salt, 
and with it moisten a piece of common window glass. Stand 
the glass up vertically in front of the box exactly on a level" 
with the globe partially protruding through the hole in 
the box. 

Try the light from your burner on it to see if it is prop- 
erly focused on the glass by the globe. 

Now set up a screen or curtain upon which you wish 
to cast pictures. Between it and the piece of window glass 
place your reading glass in such position that the rays of 
light are focused through it upon the screen. 

When everything is in correct position, you will find 
the salt solution on the window glass crystallizing, each 



220 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



group of crystals taking beautiful forms, which will appear 
on the screen in the shape of beautiful fernlike trees. 

By dropping different colors into the water with which 
the globe should be filled, you can cause the pictures on the 
screen to take different colors. 

You can keep the panorama going on indefinitely by 
renewing the application of salt solution to the glass. 

FISHING TACKLE. 

Any straight, slender, elastic light pole cut out of a 
thicket will serve well as a rod. 

Now take a number of pins, file off their heads, sharpen 



•i 



J?" 






\ A 






1 




Fishing Tackle. 



the blunt ends, and bend each pin into the shape of the let- 
ter U. 

About two feet from the handle end of the rod insert 
a U pin, leaving just enough of the loop for your fish line to 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 221 

pass through easily. Insert the other U pins here and there 
on the pole in line with the first one. 

Finish the top end of your pole with a ring made of 
wire. Twist the piece of wire till you have an O shape, 
with two prongs, which hug the sides of the poletip and 
are secured firmly to it by a tight wrapping of the wire. 

Now for the reel. Get a large, empty spool, a tin can 
and a piece of strong wire. Draw the wire through the 
spool, wedging it in firmly by means of little sticks driven 
in all around the wire. 

Cut your can open and make a cross-shaped pattern 
out of the tin. Cut holes in the side pieces, which you then 
bend into the shape shown in the picture, passing the wire 
through the holes that you punched, and bending one end 
to form a handle. 

Hammer the long section of the tin into rounded shape 
to fit the pole, lay it on the pole and secure it firmly by 
means of a tight wrapping of strong waxed string. ' 

You can also make a reel by substituting a crotch of 
wood in place of the tin. In that case, bore a hole through 
the rod, insert the prong of the crotch, then secure the 
crotch firmly to the pole by winding waxed twine around 
its two forks and then wrapping it tightly around the pole. 

Or the crotch may be made without a prong and simply 
be tacked to the pole. 

MAKE A BOOMERANG. 

Soak a piece of well-seasoned wood — ash, elm or hick- 
ory-plank that is free from knots — in boiling hot water un- 
til it is soft enough to bend under your pressure into the 
shape shown in the picture. 

Nail on the side pieces, which will hold the board in 
this position until it dries. When thoroughly dry it will 
retain its position without their help, and you can remove 
them. 

Now take a saw and saw straight, narrow sections out 



222 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



lengthwise, each section having the same angle as the orig- 
inal piece of wood from which it was sawed. 

A little trimming of the ends into nice tapering points, 
a little smoothing to remove splinters (a piece of broken 
glass is good for this purpose), and you have made out of 
each of these sections a first-class completed boomerang. 

Now how to throw it. 

Grasp it as you would a club, near one end, with the 
hollow face of it away from you, the convex side toward 
you. 

Take aim at anything you wish, say a hundred yards 
away, and throw your boomerang at it. 




A Boomerang. 

Instead of making for the object of your aim, the 
boomerang will sail high in air, whirl through all sorts of 
gyrations, then shoot away in almost any direction except 
the one of your aim, in all probability back toward yourself. 

Boomerangs are dangerous in the hands of beginners. 
Better do your practicing in vacant lots and fields, boys, 
for you don't want any one to be badly injured by a blow 
from one of these crazy instruments. 

AN ELASTIC CROSSBOW. 

Take a piece of thick plank (pine or cedar or some such 
wood), sketch on it and saw out the stock and barrel of 
your crossbow. 

Reduce it to desired form and proportions by whittling 
with your good jacknife. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



223 



Now take one of the curved instruments (called gouges, 
I believe) that are used by carpenters to make grooves, 
and cut a half-round groove along the top of the barrel the 
entire length from the muzzle end of the butt. Make it 
good and true. 

Next, bore a good-sized hole through the thick under 
portion of the stock near the muzzle end. Through this fit 
a bow, which you are supposed already to have made, and 
make it fit perfectly tight and rigid. 

To shape the bow, soak it in boiling water until it 
is soft and pliable; then, by means of strong cords, bind it 
into the shape you want. When dry it will retain this shape 




Cross Bow. 



without the bindings. Then you must whittle it into nice, 
trim form and try to make it of such size that it will not 
bend a particle when the bowstring is drawn. 

Use two pieces of very strong elastic for your bow- 
string. Connect them by a strong string, which forms the 
center and takes the brunt of the wear and tear. 

Make a trigger in the way boys usually make one, but 
don't screw it on one side of the barrel, but cut a slot in the 
barrel for it and fix it on a pivot. 

Now cover the groove with a long, thin piece of pine, 
fastening it down at the sides with small brads or screws, 
and your crossbow is finished. 

BLOWGUN. 

You boys can make yourselves blowguns and get a 
great deal of fun out of them. 

Take a good, straight glass tube about 3^ feet long. 



224 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

Test its straightness by looking through it. If it is the 
least bit untrue, you can easily detect it. If untrue, reject 
it in favor of another and true tube. 

Now wrap your tube around and around with strips 
of cloth (woolens), which will cushion the glass and pro- 
tect it from breaking. 

Next take a section of fishing rod or piece of cane, and 
with a red-hot poker or iron rod bore through the hollow in 

( t « a (( o - 



Blow Gun. 

the center of the cane until it will accommodate the glass 
tube. 

Then with putty or wax plug up the ends of the tube, 
and trim the ends of the cane to flush evenly with the ends 
of the tube. 

Your blowgun will shoot arrows, peas, pellets made of 
clay or paper wads. 

If you use arrows, make them tiny, with a point made 
out of a pin with its head knocked off. A bit of cotton at- 
tached to the butt end will make it stick in the blowgun 
until shot out. 




PROGRAMS ARRANGED 

FOR 

CHILDREN'S PARTIES 




New Year's Day, St. Valentine's, April Fool's Day, 
Easter, May-day, Fourth of July, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiv- 
ing, Christmas, a Hard Times Party. 

Also suggestions for decorations, menus and favors. 

(Note. — All games mentioned in the above programs 
will be found in the index.) 

A NEW YEAR'S DAY PARTY. 

Games : 

Good Resolutions. 
Testing of Fates. 
Hunt the Whistle. 
The King's Armory. 

The invitations to this party are cut in hour glass shape 
from heavy, white paper. The sketching of the hour glass, 
the lettering of the invitations to be done in sepia ink. For 
decorations, evergreen festoons of pine and balsam looped 
about the walls and chandeliers, wreathed windows, doors 
and arches, and here and there a bunch of pearl-berried 
mistletoe. 

The table cloth should be plentifully sprinkled with 
powdered mica to give the glistening effect of frost and 
snow. The centre of the table to hold a wreath of ever- 
green with a heap of mistletoe inside. From this centre 
piece a narrow red ribbon should run to each plate. After 
luncheon each child pulls from under the mistletoe the rib- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

bon beside the plate, at the end of which is hung a small 
hour glass. 

For refreshments: Ice cream in the form of snow 
balls, and cakes the form of an hour glass. Nuts, raisins, 
bonbons, chocolate. 

A ST. VALENTINE'S PARTY. 

Games: 

Heart Hunt, 
Cupid's Target. 
St. Valentine's Post. 
Broken Hearts. 

Of course the decorations for this party should be red 
hearts. Strings of them from the corners of the room to 
the chandeliers, fastened to the lace curtains, the mantle 
draped with them, and hung down the wall on strings. 

Cakes and ices should be heart-shape. Tarts, perhaps, 
one for each child baked heart-shape, sent with the com- 
pliments of the "Queen of Hearts." 

Favors: A sugar or plaster cupid, two heart-shape 
pincushions tied together at their widest ends by a knot of 
ribbon, a pen-wiper of the same suggestive form, a photo- 
graph-frame in heart shape. 

AN APRIL-FOOL'S DAY PARTY. 

For the girl or boy giving a party on April Fool's Day 
here are a few suggestions for the amusement and enter- 
tainment of the guests. 

In the first place, spring flowers and blossoms should 
form the decorations for the house. Any of the early flow- 
ers, such as daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and jonquils — or 
the fruit tree blossoms — would be charming and appropri- 
ate. 

The young host or hostess might meet the guests 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 22 ? 

dressed in the familiar costume of a fool, with cap and bells, 
which would at once suggest the spirit of the occasion. 

By way of entertainment, charades could be played, 
taking any of the old sayings to act containing the word 
fool — such as "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," 
"A fool and his money are soon parted," "Fools make feasts, 
and wise men eat them," or "Experience keeps a dear school, 
but fools will learn in no other." 

A game which would afford a great deal of fun would 
be for the host or hostess — or any one appointed "it" who 
is quick witted — to ask each one three questions, and all 
who cannot answer without laughing by simply saying 
"April fool," would have to pay a forfeit of some kind. 
These forfeits should be made as ridiculous as possible. 

Nothing is more genuinely enjoyed by the very young 
folks than a game of good, old-fashioned blind man's buff. 
When tired of games, music and dancing might form a 
pleasant change. 

Amusing surprises in the refreshments could be had by 
serving a salad in potatoes by scooping out the inside — or 
large apples might serve the same purpose. The ice cream 
could be served in small cups, having different colored tis- 
sue paper tied around them, and the cream — either choco- 
late or covered with chocolate, and having a flower stuck 
in the centre, would make the whole thing resemble a small 
potted plant. The flowers could be the early spring flow- 
ers, either wild or cultivated. 

A surprise in the fruits might be accomplished by cut- 
ting oranges in two, taking out the inside, and then rilling 
them with small cakes or nuts, and tying them shut with 
ribbons. Apples or oranges could be used in the same way 
to fill with candies. Chocolate cigars and cigarettes might 
be passed after the refreshments. 

For favors, to be placed at each plate with the name 
of the recipient, a good deal of fun at the table might be 
had if each package, done up in many wrappings, contained 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

some ridiculous trifle, such as a whistle, a rattle, a rag doll, 
a stick of candy, a funny animal, or any comical thing of 
which the host or hostess could think to afford amusement. 

AN EASTER PARTY. 

Games : 

Matching Eggs. 

Egg Race. 

Flower Spider Web. 

This early in the year there are not many flowers for 
decorating. Fruit-tree boughs, if they can be found, will 
be just the thing. Tissue paper butterflies of all colors and 
sizes can be easily made and make a beautiful decoration 
for this season of the year — always of course a few rabbits. 

If refreshments are served cakes and bonbons should 
be in the forms of eggs, flowers, rabbits and fowls. For a 
table centrepiece a large nest of spun sugar in which are 
"surprise eggs" will be appropriate. 

Favors should be suggested of the day. Large sugar 
eggs, an egg painted to resemble a baby's face, and which, 
with cap and flowing robe, makes a fairly acceptable doll; 
a pot of Annunciation Lilies. 

A MAY-DAY PARTY. 

Games : 

Maypole Dance. 
Japanese Fan Game. 
Ring Around the Rosy. 
Peanut Tournament. 

Decorate in spring flowers, and have everything as 
spring-like as possible. 

If the weather is favorable serve luncheon on the lawn 
at one large table in the centre of which is a large round 
gilt rattan basket filled with spring flowers. Small favors 
of some kind may be concealed in this basket and are at- 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



229 



tached to the ribbon which extends to each plate. Lettuce 
sandwiches and buttered finger rolls might be served to- 
gether with strawberries, flower ices, lady-fingers, and but- 
tercups. 

A FOURTH OF JULY FROLIC. 

Games : 

Flag Tag. 
Torpedo Hunt. 
Our Flag. 
Penny Puzzle. 

The invitations for a children's frolic on the Fourth of 
July may be written upon long, narrow strips of red card- 
board, suggestive of firecrackers. A hempen string should 
be at one end, and, so it will be necessary to paste two pieces 
of the cardboard together with the string glued between 
them at one end. The rooms or lawn where the games are 
to be played should be gay with red, white and blue bunt- 
ing and flags. 

Scarlet and white verbenas with blue larkspur will 
make a pretty centrepiece for the table, the rolled sand- 
wiches may be tied with red, white and blue ribbon, the 
bonbons wrapped in tissue paper to look like torpedoes, 
or they may be put in firecrackers. Ice cream may be served 
in red, white and blue ice cups. 

HALLOWE'EN, ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY AND MANY 
WAYS OF CELEBRATING IT. 

When the fathers of the church found their one time 
pagan worshippers yet mindful of the days wherein they 
offered to idols they turned those days to the service of the 
new faith. November i became the day of All Saints, when 
those to whom no special days had been given could be 
remembered at one honoring. The evening before it was 
Hallow Eve, and formerly had certain observances con- 



\ 



230 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

nected originally with worship. Now it is given over to 
spooks who are allowed to walk the earth, accompanied 
maybe by human spirits who have a chance on this one 
night of the year to manifest themselves. This is helpful 
to the bashful young man who dares not ask his beloved 
if she is his or not. On Hallowe'en he may know she is try- 
ing to find out w r ho is going to share her future and pay 
her bills, and he need only to send his astral body, as deputy 
to the place where she is to be. His presence (as a spirit) 
is guarantee that he is hers, and he won't be obliged to 
ask, for is it not fate? 

Hallowe'en parties usually are of girls alone, though 
there seems to be no good reason why brothers and counsins 
may not be admitted. She who means to have a Hallow- 
e'en party must provide lead to melt, nuts, nutmeal, mate- 
rial for making a cake, and a ring, thimble, raisins, key and 
wheel to put in it. If she cannot be in the country to try 
the cabbage trick, the best thing to do for it is to have a 
quantity of cabbages brought from the country and stored 
in the cellar. There must be apples and a ball of twine. By 
reading Burns' poem about Hallowe'en other things may be 
found to try. 

The proper way is for some to melt lead and others to 
do something else. The trouble is that every girl wants 
to see what every other girl gets, and a party divided will 
not enjoy themselves. 

Begin with the nuts. Put one for yourself and one for 
some one else, for several some ones else, if you wish, over 
the fire. Some will stay unmoved for a while, then fly off. 
Rarely are there two which burn quietly to ashes beside 
each other. That is the happiest omen for one's future. 

The lead melting may come next. It will spoil the 
spoon in which it is melted, so use a cheap iron one. Take 
the lead that comes on tea boxes. Put a little piece of this 
in your spoon,, hold it over the fire until the lead is soft 
and then quickly drop it into cold water. It will take many 




Bobbing for Apples 



232 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

shapes, and if your imagination is good you will see the 
shears of a tailor or a newspaper man, the sword of a sol- 
dier, the book of an author, the desk of a preacher, or any- 
thing else you want to find. It is remarkable sometimes 
how certain likenesses can be found, especially when one 
knows what to hunt for. 

Seven girls may mix the dumb cake, and while they 
do this not a word must they speak. It is nothing but flour 
and water mixed to a stiff dough and placed in a pan. On 
the top of it each girl with a new pin pricks her initials and 
those of her best beloved. The cake must bake ten minutes 
— no talking all this time — and those whose initials are 
plain when the cake is baked will be married before the 
year is out. 

Fateful Cake. — Another cake with the usual ingre- 
dients of ring, key, etc., named above, may be made with 
any amount of chattering going on. It may be good enough 
to eat, too, provided the toys are of sterling silver. Each 
girl must stir the dough once or twice. When the cake is 
ready each girl eats a slice. She who gets the ring will 
become a happy wife; the possession of the dime insures 
riches; the raisin promises happy motherhood; she who 
finds the thimble will never cease to wear it; the key un- 
locks all hearts, meaning many lovers, but never a husband, 
and the wheel foretells travels over land and sea. 

Apples are important for the charms of Hallowe'en. 
Every one knows about bobbing for them in a tub of water, 
but does every one know that the success of the coming 
year is foretold by one's skill in getting between one's lips 
an apple suspended by a string from a height? There's 
nothing more elusive than an apple swinging in the air, 
but it can be caught. Of course the hands must not help. 
Name an apple, run a needle through the centre, and if it 
goes through the seed the desired one is yours for sure. 
Another trick is to put the seeds on the lips, naming each 
seed, and the one that clings the longest is the one who 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 233 

loved you best. Of course you will peel the apple, turning 
the peeling three times around your head, let it drop, and 
then find it forms the initials you wish your future names 
to have. The charm which requires you to walk down 
stairs backward eating an apple and looking in a mirror 
all the while for the some one who will appear behind you 
is rather trying to the nerves, even if you do it with some 
one holding the light at the head of the stairs. This must. 
be done in perfect silence. 

The candle charm is pleasant. Into a candle run two 
needles "which have never been used" at right angles to 
each other. One is you (by proxy) and the other is "he." 
If the candle burns past the spot where the needles cross 
all will go well, but if it does not — who knows. 

The cabbage charm came from Scotland. Each girl 
goes blindfolded into a field where cabbages are growing 
and pulls one. If much dirt clings to the roots, wealth is 
coming by marriage; if there is a good straight stem the 
future husband will be comely. A taste of the heart indi- 
cates the disposition of the man to be. 

A nut test is tried by seven girls. Each girl makes a 
long string of acorns, winds it around the same log (a stick 
of wood) and places that on the fire. When this is done 
they draw their chairs to the side of the room furthest from 
the fire and sit in silence until all is burned to ashes. Then 
they must rake out the ashes of the log without help from 
any one, saying as they do it: — 

May my marriage be my theme, 

To visit me in this night's dream 

The image of my lover send. 

Let me see his name and face 

And his occupation trace. 

This produces a prophetic dream, so it is claimed. An- 
other dream producer, warranted, is a cake mixed of 
pounded nuts, salted very salt. Equally efficacious is a 
hard boiled tgg f from which the yoke is removed and salt 



234 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 



put in its place. It must be eaten after you get into bed, 
and then not a word must you speak. You are sure to 
dream that some one is bringing you a drink, and he who 
does is your man. 

The card charm is not generally known. At a quarter 
to twelve all who are to try it sit at a table and say nothing. 
One word breaks the spell. Promptly at twelve the cards 
are dealt, using only the face cards. A king prophesies 
speedy marriage; a jack a broken engagement; a queen, an 




old maid; diamonds, riches; spades, thrift; clubs, poverty; 
hearts, love in a cottage. 

There are many more tricks that might be tried. The 
ball of twine is thrown from the window, one end being 
held by the thrower. When she feels it caught she calls, 
"Who's there? and "he" ought to tell her. When these 
have all been tried it will be too late to try any more. 

At the supper let there be tea grounds, which are so 
prophetic of one's future. Any menu in which apples and 
nuts have a part will be appropriate. Odd and dainty sou- 
venirs may be made by mounting small witch dolls of nuts 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 235 

on the supper card. The nut forms the head of the doll and 
is dressed with a witch's peaked hat over her hood. The 
body is made of toothpicks. One trial will show how to 
make them. Letter on the card a line or two from Burns 
and you will have a quaint card. 

One of the favorite fads of the girls is to take two red 
roses with long stems and just before going to bed naming 
each of the roses, one for herself and the other for the young 
man of her fancy. Then as she^ kneels before her downy 
couch the maiden twines the stems of the roses together. 
If the young man reciprocates her fancy the flower named 
in his honor will take on a deeper carmine hue; but if her 
love is unrequited the stems will untwine and the roses fall 
from the position occupied at the head of her bed. 

Another custom that finds favor with boys and girls 
is to place in the center of a room a tub partially filled with 
water upon the bosom of which float a number of candles 
lighted and set upon an improvised boat. The first candle 
to be extinguished, according to tradition, dooms to a state 
of celibacy the maiden or swain who placed it in the tub. 
The tub is usually rocked vigorously, and if the candle is 
extinguished by the movement it carries with it the same 
degree as though it had burned out. 

Bobbing for apples is a sport originating in Conti- 
nental days and has never lost favor. Into one tub half 
filled with water are placed apples to the stems of which 
are tied bits of paper containing the names of the boys pres- 
ent at the party, while across the room is a similar tub in 
which the names of the girls are placed. With hands tied 
behind them the young folks endeavor to extricate the ap- 
ples with their teeth, and it is alleged that the name appear- 
ing upon the slip fastened to the apple is the patronymic of 
the future helpmeet of the one securing the fruit from the 
receptacle. 

If one thing in the world (not of it) is ever new, that 
thing is a ghost. So long as a Hallowe'en hostess can fur- 



236 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

nish sufficiently hair-raising spooks, she is bound to be voted 
a success. 

If you are the fortunate possessor of a garden, and if 
in that garden stands an arbor, let it be the masterpiece of 
your party. If you have no out-doors spot where mystery 
can lurk, choose an attic, cellar or some remote room in the 
house, and let it be dark. In one corner build your ghost. 

A dressmaker's frame stood upon a box furnishes an 
excellent form upon which to drape the sheet. Without it, 
you can arrange some sticks. There is no need that the 
human form be imitated closely, for the drapery will be 
loose. 

Cut a skeleton face from pasteboard. Arrange a stick 
at the top to hold the draped white cloth that is to cover 
the supposed head. Place some sort of a shelf in the form 
upon which you can put the green fire. It can be bought 
wherever fireworks are kept and its light, shining through 
the skeleton face, will produce a most satisfactory effect. 

Late in the evening, after ghost stories told by the clev- 
erest narrators you can obtain, lead your guests one by 
one to the ghost arbor or room and tell them that their for- 
tunes will be pronounced. Someone shrouded in black and 
invisible can be stationed behind the ghost and, in a voice 
of the tomb, pronounce sentence upon each trembling list- 
ener. "You will marry the man of your rival's choice/' is 
ambiguous enough to cause some merry guessing. "You 
must address the first strange red-haired woman you meet 
and tell her that her hat is on crooked; if she replies gra- 
ciously, you have met your fate." If you can prepare some 
fortunes that apply personally to the guests, all the better 
for the merriment of the party. Each one is obliged to re- 
port upon returning. 

An amusing trick is played in this way: With a cane, 
broomstick, or umbrella, measure the distance from the 
victim's elbow on the inside of the arm to the tip of his 
middle finger outstretched. Mark the point, tell him to 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 237 

clasp the stick so that the outer edge of the hand touches 
the point marked and the stick is held backwards, as shown 
in the picture. The hand must be held around the stick, 
not allowed to slope downward. He must now put the end 
of the stick into his mouth. The game will occasion much 
laughter, and few will accomplish the trick. To each who 
does accomplish it, a tiny package of seeds is given. He 
must go into the garden alone, plant the seeds, return to 




The Dance. 

the house, walking backward, and during the trip, the face 
of the bride or husband-to-be will appear in ghostly image. 
Place a round bottle lengthwise upon the floor, let a 
guest sit upon it with feet outstretched and upright, the 
heel of one resting upon the instep of the other. Give him 
two candles, one unlighted, the other lighted. Tell him to 
light the one with the other. He will no sooner have them 
in his hands and start to bring them together than the bot- 
tle will begin its rolling. From side to side the victim will 
rock, vainly endeavoring to bring the two together, and 
maintain his own balance. One minute should be allowed 



238 Games, Pastimes and Amusements 

for the accomplishment of the feat and those who win with- 
in the time are given some appropriate prize. A pumpkin 
pincushion made of silk and hung with green ribbons; a 
pasteboard pumpkin or apple filled with candy; a flat 
pocket pincushion, made to resemble an autumn leaf; a 
skull design in the form of a matchsafe or any other small 
article — all these are easily bought or made. 

A group of children may help pass the evening by a 
little dance. Any simple dance steps will serve. The chil- 
dren should wear jack-o'-lantern masks made of pasteboard 
or real pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns over their heads. If you 
can obtain some phosphorescent substance with which to 
coat the masks, it will be delightful to darken the room and 
let the little elves dance in suddenly through the dark. 

The old games of throwing an apple peel to see it form 
an initial, sailing a pair of walnut shells on a tub of water 
and reading their owners' fates in the manner of the tiny 
boats' course — their sailing together, apart or with conflict 
— all of these can be played again with new laughter. 
Swing an apple in a doorway and bob for it there as well 
as in the tub. Walk down the cellar stairs backward and 
see your fate. 

THANKSGIVING. 
Games: 

Thanksgiving Feast. 

Trussed Fowls. 

Tossing Chestnuts. 

Parcels Post. 
Nothing is prettier for decorating than chrysanthe- 
mums and autumn leaves. These are in abundance this 
time of the year. Lay leaves around on the white table 
cover, and have a large turkey in the center — this to con- 
tain smajl turkeys of bonbons, one for each child. You 
might serve turkey sandwiches, nut salad, the marron- 
nlled ice cream known as Nesselrode pudding, nut, cakes, 
salt nuts, and marrons glaces bonbons. 



Games, Pastimes and Amusements 239 

CHRISTMAS. 

Games : 

Holly Wreath. 

Christmas Candles. 

Christmas Stockings. 

Snap Dragon. 

Hot Cockles. 
Christmas-tide is the season of all others for a chil- 
dren's party. Rooms hung with holly and mistletoe need 
no other decoration, and the Christmas colors in red and 
green are repeated in gifts and favors. 

Suspend above the centre of the table, from the chan- 
delier (wreathed with Christmas greens), a bell made of 
three hoops of graduated sizes hung together with rope or 
stout cords. Cover this with scarlet tissue paper, and cover 
it thickly with holly. For the clapper of the bell use a tiny 
candle-lamp of red glass. From the top of the bell suspend 
five long ropes of evergreen dotted with scarlet berries — 
these to fall over the edge of the table. Red-cheeked ap- 
ples and white iced cakes, and bonbons complete the table 
furnishings. A small scarlet stocking, rilled with bonbons, 
can be placed at each plate. 

HARD TIMES PARTY. 

A party by no means novel, but which nevertheless 
furnishes plenty of amusement is a "Hard Times Party/' 
sometimes called An Immigrants' Party. To this the guests 
come attired in any grotesque costume depicting poverty. 
Any particularly unseasonable article of dress, as for in- 
stance, a straw hat with a winter overcoat, overalls with 
an old silk hat, etc. The girls may wear faded or patched 
dresses or aprons, or some old-time or ridiculous summer 
headgear with heavy shoes or wraps. Old-fashioned 
games, corn-popping or taffy pulling furnish the entertain- 
ment. If desired hasty-pudding with milk, dried apple or 
pumpkin pies may be served as refreshments. 



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